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flight Jinxed
Journeys
flight Dubai has always been a
highly coveted destination for Pakistanis, and many of them heading to
foreign lands or returning home like to have a stopover there. The volume of
expatriate traffic to this land of opportunity is also quite high as millions
of Pakistanis are settled here. Others go there for
vacations, shopping and briefcase-based business ventures which got a
tremendous boost after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif introduced the
green channel scheme. These businessmen, commonly known as pheray baaz, make
handsome profits on goods they bring under the personal baggage schemes
without having to pay customs duty and then sell them in the local market. The sector has always been
profitable, a proof of which is that there exists a lot of competition among
airlines flying on this sector. The UAE-based airlines have had a major share
in the pie as neither the PIA nor the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has
raised any objection or was allowed to do that. The latest addition to the
list was Eriterian Airlines, owned by the state of Eriteria which won its
independence from Italy in 1991. It’s the youngest African country which is
situated on the Horn of Africa and along the shores of the Red Sea. Eriteria
and Pakistan enjoy cordial relations as Pakistan had fully supported the
freedom movements launched in the country. This airline operates five
weekly flights from Lahore to Dubai en route to Eriterian capital Asmara, and
offers return fare as low as Rs 18,000 inclusive of taxes for those
travelling between Lahore and Dubai. In November, the airline also started
flights from Karachi and the rates offered for return journey ranged between
Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000. A PIA official tells TNS
that the amazingly low fares could be because Eriterian Airlines have to come
to Pakistani airports anyway. As the airline has reportedly been re-launched
in 2011 with the help of Pakistani administration which comprises Pakistani
officials, he says, the aircraft has to fly down for inspections etc. “What
they do is that they carry passengers as well at minimal rates. Let’s see
whether they can continue with these offers or not once their systems are in
place.” Sameena Ali, a tour
operator based in Karachi, tells TNS it’s impossible to book low-fare
flights on Eriterian Airlines for Dubai over the next two months. The low
fares are for Q class only and all the seats are booked as December-January
is considered a holiday season. The fare for the next class jumps abruptly
and is almost equal to those offered by other airlines flying on the route. She says it’s not a
difficult task to book a low fare seat in normal days provided the aspiring
traveller books well in advance, at least a month before the intended day of
departure. The ticket obviously is non-refundable, however the date of travel
can be changed subject to availability of seat in the same class, she adds. The launch of this
Eriterian Airlines has led some tour operators to announce economic holiday
trips to Dubai. But once again the offers are subject to booking of seats in
Q class. If that’s not possible, the price is revised upwards and the
differential in airfares is added to the announced costs. “My Holiday” is
one such world wide tour operator which offers 5 day tour package of Dubai
for Rs 78,500 subject to confirmation of ticket in Eriterian Airlines. Other airlines operating
non-stop flights from Lahore to Dubai are PIA, Emirates, Shaheen Air and
AirBlue. But this does not stop other airlines from luring Dubai-bound
passengers from Pakistan and otherwise. Etihad Airlines has been one of them
which would take passengers to Abu Dhabi airport and from there take
passengers to Dubai via ground transport. A direct competitor of Dubai-based
Emirates Airlines, Etihad owned by Abu Dhabi has been denied rights to land
on Dubai airport. The same strategy has been
adopted by RAK Airways (Ras Al Khaima Airways) which launched its flights
between Dubai and Lahore and between Dubai and Peshawar at fares as low as Rs
18,000 to Rs 20,000. The management offers hot meals and beverages served
free in-flight, along with a baggage allowance of 30 kg per passenger in
addition to the normal hand baggage allowance. There is also a free shuttle
service between other Emirates and RAK International Airport for each flight.
The airport is just 30 minutes away from Sharjah and 45 minutes away from
Dubai. Fasih Malik, owner of
Travel Inn, a Lahore-based travel agency tells TNS that seats on RAK Airways
can be booked for anywhere between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000. As the airline is
new in Pakistan, it’s yet to set up a proper system. What’s happening so
far is that they even sell tickets at the airport prior to the departure of
their planes, he says adding: people take chances and try to buy tickets at
the last moment. “If there are abundant seats available the rate comes down
and if the situation is otherwise the rate shoots upwards,” he adds. Gohar Majeed, a frequent
traveler to Dubai and other tourist hubs, sees the development with
skepticism. He fears the initiatives may not live long keeping in view the
dishonesty existing among locals. Gohar doubts the low-fare tickets are not
being offered intentionally and there’s a possibility they have been booked
under fake names. He recalls how a Gulf Dream
Cruise was started between Karachi and Dubai in 2006 but unfortunately it was
scrapped in the very week of its launch. The vessel weighed 23,000 tonnes and
was 196 meters long. It had 540 rooms, crew comprising 400 members and could
accommodate up to 1,250 passengers. The initial fare for this service was
$549 for a round trip. The passengers were
supposed to stay on the vessel or, at the most, move around inside the jetty,
but what they did was that they went beyond the port limits without having
permission to step on that soil. The practice was noticed by the UAE
authorities with resentment and their annoyance led to the discontinuation of
this service, he adds.
Jinxed
Journeys This is about a trip to
India back in October 1984 when my husband and I decided to visit relatives
and friends there together with our two young children. I had not been to
India for some years and, for my husband, it was a visit after over 20 years.
He was therefore quite excited, looking forward to do some sightseeing, and
meeting his aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as some of my relatives. We had two great weeks in
Bombay, as Mumbai was known then. It was Diwali time and the revelling and
decorations at the street level were simply fabulous. We were staying with my
great-aunt and her family, and each day we were taken around the city and its
environs. From Bombay we went to Jaipur. On October 30 we flew on to New
Delhi and settled into a hotel at the Connaught Circus. My husband was not too
happy with the small, window-less room, so we pondered moving over to a more
spacious-looking hotel just across the street the following day. We planned
to visit Agra to see the Taj Mahal on November 2, then come back to Delhi and
catch a flight to Indore — to meet his relatives. But destiny had other plans
for us. Next morning, October 31, having deferred our intention of moving
over, we stepped out into the fresh autumn morning to get a feel of the
place. While out in the bazaar on Janpath, we heard shop-keepers in hushed
tones sharing the terrible news that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had been
shot inside her official residence in New Delhi. Although shaken, we
continued our stroll… A short while later it was
confirmed that she had died. We still did not realise what was in store for
us. Towards evening, feeling
tired, we returned to our window-less room, and retired early. Throughout the
night we heard police sirens and ambulances wailing, and the sound of
fire-engines racing along nearby roads. It must be a busy place, we thought. The next morning as we sat
down for breakfast in the hotel’s dining room, we saw, on the cover of the
Times of India, in a 4 inch high banner headline, just two words: “DELHI
BURNS”. Below it, in a sweeping photo right across the front page of the
paper, was a skyline in flames. An eerie calm, however, engulfed the
neighbourhood. We decided to try visiting
some friends across town, but had difficulty getting them on the phone. It
became obvious that it would be difficult to cross the city in safety. We
then thought we would make the most of a bad day by taking our trip to Agra,
thus avoiding the mayhem in the city. However, much to our dismay, we soon
learnt that no bus service was available, to any destination within the city
or without. We would have to stay put, and hope for the best. Bhindranwale, we had been
reading that year, in tandem with other Akali leaders, had turned the sacred
Golden Temple in Amritsar into an armed fortress of Sikh defiance. Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi’s ‘Operation Bluestar’ against this sacred site
of the Sikhs had eventually brought about her assassination by her own Sikh
bodyguards. All hell had broken loose throughout New Delhi the same evening,
and continued for several days, as thousands of Sikhs paid with their life
for the crime committed by their compatriots. Police and the administration
remained mute spectators to the violence, making no effort to stop or
disperse the rioters looting, lynching, killing…. It was a state of
veritable anarchy. Shops and homes belonging
to Sikhs were being burnt and looted, taxies driven by them were being
destroyed and burnt, and scores of people were running after whosoever was
bearded and turbaned, in a horrific killing spree. And here we were, trapped
inside a hotel, with two young children, unable to comprehend the full
magnitude of the disaster around us. It was the worst possible first-hand
encounter of being in the thick of it, witnessing men all around us suddenly
turning into barbarians. On the second day, the
riots escalated instead of simmering down. We were running short of milk and
food for our children aged five and two, and the hotel was indicating a
shutdown of its kitchen any time. We were indeed desperate to get out of the
city, but no transport seemed to be available. On our first visit ever to
Delhi, where we had hoped to spend quality time together in the beautiful
autumn weather of late October, we found ourselves not only terrified but
close to being starved. We also learnt that our next destination, Indore, was
in fact the next worst-hit city after Delhi. We were therefore advised to
return, if at all possible, to Bombay, as that ever-cosmopolitan city was
perhaps a safer place to be. But how to get out of the hotel and reach the
airport was the big question! Later that afternoon, the
hotel across the street — the one we had been thinking of moving into, was
also torched. We saw it go up in smoke, and slowly burn to the ground from
inside our own hotel. Its proprietor, unfortunately, was said to have been a
Sikh. Amidst the tension and anxiety of our predicament, we thanked our stars
that we had stayed put where we were. My husband, who has sported
a beard since his student years in the 1960s and early 1970s, was advised in
earnest by the hotel manager to shave it off. “I know you are a Muslim, but
these are crazy times… you have witnessed scenes of the mob’s fury. Men
with beards are not safe even inside their hotel rooms, as they are being
sought and killed. I strongly advise you to consider this before you are
mistaken for a Sardarji!” I pleaded with him to
follow the manager’s sensible advice. Somewhat reluctantly he conceded and,
with the help of a borrowed razor and hand-washing soap (since he did not
carry a shaving kit), he turned his ‘Pakistani’ beard into a ‘French’
one! Finally, on the third day,
we were fortunate to find a taxi at the door of the hotel. We gathered the
courage to traverse this city of death, and managed to reach the airport
through a deserted city. On our way we saw grotesque scenes — fire and
smoke, at least 20 burnt taxis and several charred bodies. The airport was overflowing
with people who wanted to get out of Delhi. Anybody who did not actually
belong to this city wanted to leave, at least for now. Having made it to the
airport by eleven in the morning, we finally got onto a plane at midnight.
There was no food or water at the airport, and also none on the plane, as it
could not be supplied anything. We did make it to Bombay safely, though
utterly exhausted and drained, both physically and emotionally. Having spent
three days in the capital, we had hardly ventured out, and missed our chance
to visit Agra as well. Yet we considered ourselves lucky to have come out
unhurt. According to reports, Sikh
houses were looted, about 1,000 Sikhs were killed in east Delhi alone and 72
gurdwaras were torched. We also learned that frenzied Hindu mobs killed
nearly 10,000 innocent Sikhs across India down to Karnataka in the 1984
carnage. Those riots were said to be the worst-ever after the Partition riots
of 1947. The terror of those three
days and nights still haunts us. My husband has not gone back to India in
these 27 years. For him, the dream of viewing the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal
remains a dream. |
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