Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday, September 16 urged the Union government to take steps to make airfares affordable for flights to the Gulf. In a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Chief Minister said that expatriates are one of the most affected sections in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic and many of them who had come to India during the first lockdown last year have had to stay put here, without any employment.
"Now that various air routes are opening up, they are keen to return to their places of work and start afresh. However, it has been noted that airfares have skyrocketed in various sectors, especially for flights to the Gulf. After more than a year of unemployment, many are finding it difficult to afford these airfares that are being quoted now, which are often two or three times the usual rates," CM Pinarayi said in the letter and sought Minister Jyotiraditya’s "immediate intervention" to make it affordable to all.
The CM said that the unskilled and semi-skilled workers, who form the majority of Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in the Gulf, are the worst affected. He added that throughout the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, as a country, India's priority has been to secure the lives and livelihoods of its people.
"As our people are trying to get their livelihoods back on track, your kind gesture in this regard will be much appreciated. More people being able to travel abroad at affordable airfare, will also mean that more money comes into India's exchequer by way of foreign exchange and will hasten the economic recovery of the country," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Recently, a survey conducted by the Centre for Indian Migrant Studies (CIMS) had revealed that many NRIs who returned to India have not received their pending dues from the companies they left. Just from 397 persons who returned, an estimated amount of Rs 62 crore was deprived. Nearly 11 lakh people had returned to Kerala during the pandemic, due to job loss.
(With PTI inputs)