Low cost airline, Air India Express (AIE), has indeed shrunk time and space, besides money, for NRI Mangaloreans. But Gonu cyclone (that hit the coast of Oman last week) and the subsequent cancellation of flights have cost two persons their jobs in Dubai.
Narrating the incident to Deccan Herald, Mr Jayson Pereira (23) said that he received a telphone call from the AIE office on June 9 morning saying that the flight which he was supposed to fly that day at 8.10 pm (IX-801 Mangalore-Dubai flight) has been cancelled and that his ticket has been rescheduled for June 11.
As Mr Pereira, a logistics co-ordinator in Koohijillc (a firm in Dubai), was supposed to join duty on June 10, he called his office in Dubai and requested them to extend his leave by two days, to which the company obliged.
As per the procedure, Mr Pereira confirmed his ticket on June 11 morning at AIE office. However, when he reached the airport in the evening, he was in for a shock as the AIE officials told him that he could fly only on June 13.
Left with no choice, Mr Pereira returned home only to receive a telephone call from his company in Dubai that he was fired as he failed to report on June 12.
When Mr Pereira approached the AIE on Tuesday, an official told him that they were helpless as the flight was running full, while another said that he should have taken the June 10 flight. “I was not aware of the June 10 flight, but the AIE official insisted that they had informed me,” Mr Pereira said and countered: “Had the officials informed me (either by e-mail/mobile/landline), why would I not go?”
Same is the case with Melwyn D’Souza (26), a resident of Vamadapadav in Bantwal taluk, a machinist in a firm at Jebelali Freezone in Dubai. He too received a call from his company on June 12 saying that he  had been fired.
The duo claimed that there were at least nine people at the airport who could not take the June 9 flight.
Mr Paul, who accompanied the duo, said that many overseas employees return just a day or two before the lapse of their visa. If they reach even an hour after the visa lapse, the immigration officials will not allow them to disembark at the airport.
Incidentally, Jayson Pereira as well as Melwyn D’Souza are sole bread earners of their families.
AIE clarifies
AIE Station Manager Chellam Prasad said that the AIE went out of its way to announce the special flight on June 10.
“Since the special flight  decision was taken on June 9 night, they could not inform everybody. But 110 passengers out of 140 turned up as information was telecast on local channels and DD,” she said.
About the AIE’s failure to send the duo by June 11 flight, Ms Prasad said the flight was full. As per International Flight rules, she said she could give a certificate which could be shown to the employers in Dubai.