High hotel tariff greets passengers from UAE

Nearly 50 days after the cancellation of international flights, the first flight from UAE with 176 passengers including 81 women landed at Mangalore International Airport (MIA) on Tuesday night.

The Air India Express flight (IX 384) left UAE airport at 5.10 pm and reached MIA around 10.30 pm. Among the passengers were 38 women who were pregnant. Most of the passengers returning to Mangaluru either had lost their jobs, or their visas had expired or had some medical emergencies to attend.

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As many as 17 hotels and 12 hostels had been identified for quarantining those who arrived from foreign countries. Passengers aboard the flight complained of being fleeced by the hotels. All hotels categorised as grade 1, grade 2, grade 3 and non-AC hotels had increased their tariff.

“The tariff of a double AC room at a hotel on KS Rao Road was Rs 5,400 per day. At the end of self-quarantine, we would be slapped with a room bill of Rs 76,000 plus taxes,” a passenger said.

The district administration, however, remained tight-lipped on the issue.

Passengers after landing at the airport underwent medical check-up.

The district administration had prohibited relatives and friends from meeting the passengers at the airport.