A group of passengers at Hamad International Airport before their flight, which was sponsored by a private entity.
As the Government of India has allowed more chartered flights to repatriate Indians stranded in various countries, several community organizations and forums in Qatar, as well as companies, have come forward to organize free-of-cost flights for people in need.
These entities are using the services of different airlines for this purpose, it is learned.
The chartered flights are in addition to the flights operated under the Indian government’s Vande Bharat Mission.
According to the Indian embassy, 39 company-hired charters and as many community-hired charters have been operated from Doha to various destinations in India to date, helping repatriate thousands of Indians.
One such flight, organized by Azym Technologies, an IT solutions and cloud technology company based in Qatar, took off for Kochi Saturday.
Open to the “most-deserving” community members, the passengers were among the neediest community members who included people who had lost their jobs, whose visas had expired as well as pregnant women, among others. About 175 distressed people were given free tickets.
“We have carried some 175 passengers to Kochi free of cost. All of them are from the neediest members of the Indian community here in Qatar. We are glad that we were able to help a good number of fellow Indians during this pandemic as part of our corporate social responsibility,” Shafeek Kabeer, founder, and CEO of Azym Technologies told Gulf Times.
The official also told that the company has sponsored another 50 passengers on a chartered flight organized by another Indian forum. “In addition to chartering a free-of-cost flight, we have also helped a number of people during this pandemic in various forms. We have also planned to help more people reach India in the coming days,” added Kabeer.
The Pravasi Co-ordination Committee Qatar (PCCQ) said it has completed the formalities for a free flight to Kochi. It had earlier announced the flight for the “most deserving” individuals.
“Our free-of-cost flight will fly to Kochi on July 1. We had over 1,500 applications and the most deserving 180 people out of them have been shortlisted. The details have been provided to the authorities concerned. We are coordinating with the Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) for the final steps to complete their repatriation,” said Dr. Nizar Kochery, chairman of PCCQ.
Dr. Kochery said that in addition to the ICBF, several other forums have also come forward to support the initiative. “These include Galfar Al Misnad, Coastal Trading, Trey Trading, Gulf Asia, Tharoor Pravasi Association as well as Kochery Associates. We hope to assist more people as the number of needy people is quite huge and there are many on the waiting list,” he added.
A free flight arranged by Cultural Forum, Qatar is scheduled to leave for Kozhikode with 171 passengers Sunday morning. “The flight has been organized by Cultural Forum in collaboration with the Centre for Indian Community Qatar as well as Azym Technologies. We had earlier announced 100 free tickets to India and many have already traveled using this facility on the Vande Bharat flights,” said Taj Aluva, president, Cultural Forum, Qatar.
Incas Qatar, too, had announced registration for a free chartered flight to Kozhikode for distressed people. The registration for the same was completed Saturday and officials said more details would be made available soon.
Similarly, a repatriation flight organized by Indian expatriate group Chaliyar Doha left for Kozhikode recently with 176 passengers and six infants.
The chartered flights are in addition to the flights operated under the Indian government’s Vande Bharat Mission.
According to the Indian embassy, 39 company-hired charters and as many community-hired charters have been operated from Doha to various destinations in India to date, helping repatriate thousands of Indians.
One such flight, organized by Azym Technologies, an IT solutions and cloud technology company based in Qatar, took off for Kochi Saturday.
Open to the “most-deserving” community members, the passengers were among the neediest community members who included people who had lost their jobs, whose visas had expired as well as pregnant women, among others. About 175 distressed people were given free tickets.
“We have carried some 175 passengers to Kochi free of cost. All of them are from the neediest members of the Indian community here in Qatar. We are glad that we were able to help a good number of fellow Indians during this pandemic as part of our corporate social responsibility,” Shafeek Kabeer, founder, and CEO of Azym Technologies told Gulf Times.
The official also told that the company has sponsored another 50 passengers on a chartered flight organized by another Indian forum. “In addition to chartering a free-of-cost flight, we have also helped a number of people during this pandemic in various forms. We have also planned to help more people reach India in the coming days,” added Kabeer.
The Pravasi Co-ordination Committee Qatar (PCCQ) said it has completed the formalities for a free flight to Kochi. It had earlier announced the flight for the “most deserving” individuals.
“Our free-of-cost flight will fly to Kochi on July 1. We had over 1,500 applications and the most deserving 180 people out of them have been shortlisted. The details have been provided to the authorities concerned. We are coordinating with the Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) for the final steps to complete their repatriation,” said Dr. Nizar Kochery, chairman of PCCQ.
Dr. Kochery said that in addition to the ICBF, several other forums have also come forward to support the initiative. “These include Galfar Al Misnad, Coastal Trading, Trey Trading, Gulf Asia, Tharoor Pravasi Association as well as Kochery Associates. We hope to assist more people as the number of needy people is quite huge and there are many on the waiting list,” he added.
A free flight arranged by Cultural Forum, Qatar is scheduled to leave for Kozhikode with 171 passengers Sunday morning. “The flight has been organized by Cultural Forum in collaboration with the Centre for Indian Community Qatar as well as Azym Technologies. We had earlier announced 100 free tickets to India and many have already traveled using this facility on the Vande Bharat flights,” said Taj Aluva, president, Cultural Forum, Qatar.
Incas Qatar, too, had announced registration for a free chartered flight to Kozhikode for distressed people. The registration for the same was completed Saturday and officials said more details would be made available soon.
Similarly, a repatriation flight organized by Indian expatriate group Chaliyar Doha left for Kozhikode recently with 176 passengers and six infants.
