3 Gujarat businessmen stuck in Dubai return via Oman route, but at a price

They had gone to the United Arab Emirates on a business trip on February 25. However, with the beginning of the war within days of their arrival in Dubai, the Patels were forced to stay indoors at a hotel in Bur Dubai locality of the city. While Alpesh and Yogesh are from Mehsana district, Parth is from Patan district.

Alpesh is doing business related to oil and gas whereas his two nephews are into scrap business.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Alpesh said that they were scheduled to hold business meetings at various places in Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah and Abu Dhabi between March 1 and 10.

“In the initial days of our trip, we did some business meetings in Dubai. But after that, this war broke out and we were confined to our hotel, following the advisory from the UAE authorities. We could not do any other business meeting. As the air space over Dubai was closed, we got stuck. We tried a lot to get a flight from the UAE, but failed. We thought of waiting till March 10 since we had a flight ticket booked for that day. However, our family pressure was immense. Our families were not ready to let us live there any more and were insisting on leaving Dubai at the earliest,” said Alpesh.

“I tried booking tickets from my laptop continuously for four-five hours a day from any airport in the UAE, but tickets were not available. Then one of our acquaintances, who is a frequent visitor of Dubai, told us to go to Oman and catch a flight from there. He (the acquaintance) was also stuck in Dubai and had taken the Oman route a few days ago,” he added.

Alpesh said that with the help of the acquaintance, they finalised the Oman route and got tourist visas for 10 days through an agent and booked a flight ticket from Muscat for March 5. On Thursday, they hired a cab from Dubai and reached the Oman border. And from Oman, they hired another taxi and reached Muscat airport at around 4:30 pm IST.

“From Muscat, we took an Air India Express flight which landed at Mumbai airport at 3 am on Friday. From Mumbai, we had a flight to Ahmedabad at 12 noon which got delayed by 2.30 hours and eventually cancelled. We then booked another flight which is now scheduled at 11 pm. So, we hope to land at Ahmedabad airport by 12.30 am,” said Alpesh.

According to Alpesh, they had spent around Rs 28,000 per person for the return ticket for the flight scheduled for March 10.

“Against that, we have spent around Rs 65,000 per person to return to India,” he said.

This cost includes charges for taxi from Dubai to Muscat airport, visa consultation, flights from Muscat to Mumbai and then from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

When asked about his emotion after coming back to India, Alpesh said, “The sense of uncertainty vanished immediately after we reached Mumbai. In Dubai, we used to look out of the window at any sound. We have been at the (Mumbai) airport since 3 am, but there is no feeling of boredom. Our family members who call us frequently to inquire about our well being have stopped calling us after they got the message that we have reached Mumbai (laughs).”