Dubai's budget carrier flydubai on Tuesday said it has opened flight tickets for sale to Pakistan and India from next week to repatriate stranded people in the UAE.
However, the resumption of flights to both the countries is still subject to approval from the governments.

"A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) sets out the flight restrictions that are in place between the UAE and India in response to Covid-19. Flydubai has opened flights for sale to India and Pakistan to allow repatriations for their nationals from April 15 and will operate subject to government approval," the airline spokesperson said in a statement to Khaleej Times on Tuesday.

Currently, thousands of Pakistani and Indian nationals are stranded in the UAE due to the suspension of flights.

Pakistan Consulate advisory

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai said it has not announced any special flights to Pakistan yet. "The Consulate General of Pakistan, Dubai has not announced any special flight to Pakistan of any airline yet. Any booking by travel agents/airline has no concurrence of this Consulate," the consulate said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The consulate is also currently collecting data of its nationals stranded in the UAE to repatriate them when flights resume.

Ahmed Amjad Ali, consul-general of Pakistan in Dubai, clarified that priority will be given to the people who were laid off or their visas have expired. By Monday evening, around 20,000 people had registered to go back to Pakistan.

According to other reports, the flydubai is planning to start running outbound services to certain destinations in Pakistan and India from April 16.

You can currently only travel on one-way outbound trips, as the UAE’s restrictions on inbound passengers are still in place.

At this stage, UAE nationals are the only people able to enter the country, but there are also limitations on who can board flydubai services.

Flights to India are reserved solely for Indian nationals, and journeys to Pakistan can only be made by Pakistani nationals. Destinations in India include Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, Kozhikode, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Lucknow. Flight to Pakistan include Karachi, Multan, Sialkot and Faisalabad.

With such a limited number of seats available (only a few flights per week for most of the routes), the prices aren’t the sort you’d normally associate with a low-cost airline, but they could provide a lifeline to people in urgent need of travel.

On the dates tested, prices started from around Dhs1,800 upward, depending on the destination.

The development followed announcements from both Etihad Airways and Emirates about their own repatriation flight services, which are already underway.

There have also been exciting developments at Abu Dhabi Airport this week, with Etihad trialling new technology that could spot passengers showing early signs of Covid-19 and stop them boarding flights.

For peace of mind, flydubai is currently offering greater flexibility on tickets booked with them. Customers can make changes without penalty and request refunds via a flydubai voucher, valid for 12 months.