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Dubai: Airlines said they will be able to accommodate the expected rush of amnesty-seekers flying home.
Thousands of illegal workers from South Asian countries are expected to take advantage of the amnesty announced by the government.
Mohammad Ali Ahsan, regional manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said the carrier will set up a booth at the Bangladesh embassy in Abu Dhabi to handle such cases.
"We are expecting between 4,000 and 5,000 extra passengers due to the amnesty. We have 20 flights a week from the UAE to Bangladesh and that should take care of them. If required, we are prepared to operate additional flights," Ahsan told Gulf News.
Increase in bookings
Air India Regional Manager Jaishree Ramachandran also said the airline will be in a position to provide extra capacity if required.
"So far we have not seen big groups of passengers approaching us. We do not anticipate any problem in accommodating them," she said, adding that the airline is currently experiencing the normal summer rush of travellers to India.
"If there is a rush in the last few days of amnesty, then there may be a problem. We are prepared to provide more capacity but at this point we do not feel that the situation will arise," she said.
Kyle Haywood, commercial director for budget carrier Air Arabia, said the airline has seen some increase in bookings on its South Asian routes.
It has flights to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. It will start flying to Chittagong in Bangladesh from Monday.
"We are experiencing an increase in bookings on these routes but we do not know how much of it is due to the amnesty," he said.
But Sri Lankan Airlines said it is not expecting a rush of amnesty passengers and has so far not received specific requests from travel agents or diplomatic missions for seats.
"We have the usual summer rush. Our flights are heavily booked till mid-July," said Desiree Prema-chandra, UAE manager for Sri Lankan.
She said the airline can offer more seats in August if there are too many amnesty passengers going to Sri Lanka.
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