60 return home on ‘dear’ Vande Bharat flight from Kuala Lumpur

A Vande Bharat Mission from Kuala Lumpur flew in 60 stranded Karnataka residents on Tuesday night, while 15 people abandoned the journey due to the high ticket price.

Many vied for a seat on the coveted flight as it was the only one to fly in from the south-east Asian nation in phase 2 of the Vande Bharat Mission. But the Rs 33,000 price tag per seat proved too exorbitant for some.

Nagendra Loli, a Kuala Lumpur resident for 12 years and a member of the Kannada expat community in Malaysia, said the high cost demanded of people trying to get home had shocked many.

The community has helped locally to coordinate the repatriation flights, in conjunction with the High Commission of India, Kuala Lumpur (HCIKL).

“I fly to Bengaluru regularly with my wife and the average flight fare is about Rs 12,000 for a couple. Even a late hour booking often costs only about Rs 8,000 per person. I don’t know what to call this,” Nagendra said. The flight (Air India 1325) departed from Kuala Lumpur at 3 pm and landed in Bengaluru about 6.45 pm on Tuesday. Several returning passengers said they were also aghast to discover that those flying to Kerala on another repatriation flight were only paying Rs 15,000 for their seats, in addition to no hotel quarantine fees.

“This shows how badly we have been let down by our state government. The Kerala government clearly negotiated with the Centre for a better deal,” said one passenger, adding that the Kerala passengers had also been given care packages with dry ration and food. DH could not independently verify these claims.

Dr Prabhu Dev Gowda, health officer-in-charge at the airport, said the 60 new arrivals will be subject to a medical examination at the airport before being taken to hotels of their choice.

“On Wednesday morning, swab samples will be collected. Those who test negative can travel to other states once they secure a pass,” Dr Gowda said.

Seats grabbed

The spate of cancellations on Tuesday allowed Karnataka residents desperate to return home to grab the vacant seats. Some said they had little choice but to pay the exorbitant rates.

Anil Kumar (31), who operates a clothing store in Majestic, was one of them. “The price was too high, but I did not have much of a choice, having already spent about Rs 80,000 just trying to survive with no income in Malaysia,” Kumar said.

Kumar had been to Malaysia to attend his partner’s wedding when the lockdown was imposed and he was trapped.

Concern for those stranded

Concern has been growing about those who opted out of the flight. “By opting out the flight, these individuals are potentially making things worse for themselves. The ticket prices are not likely to come down because they have been set by the Ministry of External Affairs. Whatever existing funds they have will dwindle staying in Malaysia without an income,” said Nagendra Loli, a member of the Kannada expat community in Malaysia.

Though Malaysia is said to relax its lockdown on June 9, there could be no commercial flight until July.

The 15 who decided to stay back have joined about 40 Karnataka residents still desperate to get home. Many pinned their hopes on a subsequent Vande Bharat flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bengaluru via Bhubaneswar.

However, on Tuesday afternoon, the flight had been cancelled due to Cyclone Amphan.