EXCLUSIVE: Now, Koreans want special flights between India and South Korea, many want to go back
Korean Association in India has kicked off a survey to establish the number of Korean nationals wanting to go back to their country.
NEW DELHI: Closely toeing the Japanese example, now South Korean nationals living in India are planning to leave the country in the wake of nationwide lockdown and surging cases of Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 here.
For this, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) might soon urge the Indian government to seek special permission for allowing the state-run airlines Korean Air to ferry Korean nationals back to Seoul.
Meanwhile, the Korean Association in India has also kicked off a survey to establish the number of Korean nationals who want to go back to their country.
It is noteworthy here that the Indian aviation authorities have granted special permission to the Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) for operating Delhi-Tokyo flights. JAL has been operating one flight on a daily basis for ferrying Japanese nationals from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to Narita since March 24, while ANA started its services from today till April 8.
The Indian government had announced a complete lockdown of IGI) Airport for banning all domestic and international incoming and outgoing flights as a measure to check the spread of Coronavirus.
“We too are planning to get permission for our Korean people to go back to our country as many are planning to go back because of lockdown here in India. We through Embassy may move the Indian government for allowing flights between India and Korea,” Euy Don Park, Chairman, Presidential Korean Association in India, told Asian Community News (ACN) Network. This association represents the entire Korean community living in India.
According to an estimate, there are about 15,000 South Korean nationals living in India, many with their families including wives and children.
“We are conducting a survey to find how many Korean people want to leave India and share the findings to the Embassy that will be contacting the Indian government for the necessary permission for allowing Korean airlines to operate flights to ferry the Koreans back to Korea,” said Park.
Park said that as of now there were no special flights operating between India and South Korea because of the Coronavirus outbreak but some Koreans wanted to go back to Korea as the picture on the term of the lockdown in India was not clear.
The Korean professionals including engineers are sitting idle because of suspension of production at the Korean companies like Hyundai, KIA and others following the lockdown orders bringing the entire country to a standstill situation till April 14.
There are apprehensions doing round that the April 14 deadline of the lockdown might get extended considering the present situation as the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases have crossed the 1000 figures in India, and the number is increasing with each passing day.
