Hyderabad:Eager to fly back home, US citizens await clarity on flights

TNN | Apr 5, 2020, 07:11 IST

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HYDERABAD: US citizens stuck in the city were left grappling with the lack of clarity over the US consulate’s efforts to fly them back to the US on Saturday. Even though flights were supposed to start repatriating the US citizens, many of whom are Telugu, on Saturday, many queries about travel details were still being posted on social media, with some people posting that they had not even been contacted by the embassy or consulate yet.
In a health alert, the US Mission to India assured citizens that it is facilitating a series of flights to the US starting Saturday evening. The US Consulate in Mumbai (@USAndMumbai), tweeted: “Our consular officers are working tirelessly to prepare repatriation flights to the United States. Flights will begin this weekend. Continue to check this feed and our website for updates.”

In spite of the assurances, there was a flood of messages on social media, especially from those who had not received confirmation.
Tweeting to the US Consulate in Hyderabad, Krishna Kumar (@Krishna61782938) said: “I have not seen any emails on flight information or seat reservation yet. Waiting for the flight schedule information.” Sachi Pati (@atspati) tweeted: “Waiting for notification. Located at Hyderabad.”, while Padmavathi Marpaka (@Padmavathi-Marp1) tweeted: “We submitted the forms for return to US. We he have few of the following questions: 1) What is the airline taking us to US? 2) (If) Our final destination is other than Atlanta. What is the status of 14 days of quarantine? 3) is it going to be in Atlanta or at final destination?”
Those stuck in Hyderabad have to make their way to Mumbai from where repatriation flights will be available to Atlanta and Georgia. A statement by the US mission said, “The US Consulate Generals in Chennai and Hyderabad are working to arrange domestic charter flights to allow US citizens from those areas to reach Mumbai.”
The US embassy also clarified that it is making every effort to accommodate as many passengers as possible, and urged US citizens who want to return to the US to take advantage of the current opportunities. “We do not know for how long these flights will continue. US citizens who wish to return should consider that these flights may be their best option for returning to the US in the near term,” it said.