Punjab

Negative list: Indian crew not allowed to leave airport

FIA sources said immigration officials refused to grant three Indian crew members leave the airport premises.

Asad Kharal February 01, 2014

FIA sources said immigration officials refused to grant three Indian crew members leave the airport premises. PHOTO:FILE

LAHORE:

Three Indian crew members of a Qatar Airways flight were denied permission by immigration officials on Friday to stay at a local hotel when their flight was delayed due to poor visibility caused by foggy weather.

The crew not allowed leave airport premises were Co-Pilot Shah Pooja Manikant, Mehat Rahul and Gala Rani Tina. The flight departed at 4.30 pm on Friday after a 40-hour delay.

Officials familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that Qatar Airways International flight was scheduled to depart for Doha at 3:25am on January 30, 2014 but was delayed due to bad weather.

They said Qatar Airways management requested Immigration Wing of the FIA to allow crew members a stay at a local hotel until the flight could take off.

FIA sources said immigration officials refused to grant three crew members who were Indian citizens permission to leave the airport premises.

The airline authorities were told that India falls in List-C (negative countries), could not, therefore, accommodate them.

Pakistan is a signatory to international conventions allowing crew of flight services to stay in foreign countries on the basis of a general geclaration (without visas).

This is not required at many airports where accommodation facilities are available. Allama Iqbal Airport, however, does not have accommodation facilities and such crew members generally stay at hotels outside airport premises on the basis of “short-term” visas.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2014.

COMMENTS (9)

Tahir Hussain | 10 years ago | Reply @ Rauf Any person with the slightest knowledge of the aviation industry will understand that you have no idea of what you are talking about. You have no safety perspective of any kind at all. You are just neck deep in the hatred that is boiling in you against your enemy that you are willing to say and do anything to disgrace your enemy. You are so blinded by that hatred in you that you are unable to do any kind of research before making these ignorant statements. Please allow me to correct you here. Both Pakistan and India are obliged under ICAO's Annex 9 to do what is written down. And this is the rule of our country. And yes, it is ratified by our country. Please be rational. You said Indian humiliating us Pakistani? Are we still on the same topic or are you drifting away? 200 million Indians are sleeping on the streets and you want 3 more to suffer the same fate. Seriously? Are we still on the same page? I am nobody's attorney, especially not India's. My apology if I have offended anybody. My only concerns was to follow international norms and not to make irrational decisions when it comes to safety. A pilot should have the best rest hours in the best possible environments so that there is not one iota of psychological stress. Authorities have all the rights to be concern about certain individuals entering our country. Because security of our country is as important as the safety. And that's why it is not a non-issue. This is something to be discussed about and I thank 'The Express Tribune' to bring this to the general public attention. As for whether or not I have ever traveled out of Pakistan, I will leave that for the readers to decide

Rauf | 10 years ago | Reply @Tahir Hussain: If you are talking about this declaration then Indians should also abide by this declaration like the one they expect from other countries. I would expect from immegration authorities to made them sit at the airport even if its 100 hours because they deserve much worse than that. There is nothing political here its about rules. Our country rules are what we respect. We are only bound to those declarations which are ratified by Pakistan as a member state. DO you know this declaration was ratified by Pakistan or not? Also why India is not abiding by this? How about Indians in other countries humiliating Pakistanis whenever they find any opportunity to do so. I think you never travelled out of Pakistna that is why you are talking like their attorney. Anyway its our right to implement the laws we have in our country and stop accessing any enemy country's national enetering Pakistan. I think you don't know its only 2 hours flight from Kaarachi to Doha and they can go back and rest there. There is no safety issue. I am flying for the last 15 years and I know what safety means and how it can affect if a pilot sleeps at the bench. I don't understand your point why a pilot will put the flight safety at risk if he sleeps on a bench and then he fly aircraft just for two hours. Its not 8 hours plus flight where the pilot can make mistakes. IN this particular case there was no safety issue that is why the plane reached back Doha safely. The only trouble was that your pilot slept on the bench not in a 5 star hotel which is a non issue for any Pakistani because more than 200 million Indians sleep on streets and if threeIndians slept on the bench at the airport, it does not make any difference.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Tahir Hussain | 10 years ago | Reply

@ Pakistani Crew: I seriously doubt that you are a crew of any kind. You stay on board the aircraft no matter how many hours or days?? You can't be serious about this. Which airline do you work for? Do they even have Crew Control team to look into scheduling of aircraft. And they don't give you water? Please, let's admit that you knew nothing about the aviation industry if you finds this a non-issue. Haven't your airline thought you about the importance of proper crew rest time during your induction classes in order not to jeopardize the safety of the aircraft? @ Rauf Sir, like Kush have said, this is an issue that has to be handle with proper thinking and not ignore it as a non-issue. ICAO guidelines have clear indications on the handling of Crew Members at all international airport. They do not need a visa as long as they are included in the General Declaration. All UN members need to follow these guidelines or else they will have to issue a Notices Of Difference to ICAO. Individual decision can't be made from airport to airport. Please do not bring in politics when we are talking about safely carrying people from one place to another. Propaganda got our country nothing but sorrow and ignorance.

Rauf | 10 years ago | Reply

@pakistani crew:

You are right we should not let them enter in our airport as well. What they do we should do exactly the same. They are not from sky but dk worshipers. Did you read the comment of Kush who tried to convince that Pakistnis crew are allowed to enter India without visa and taken care of very well.

pakistani crew | 10 years ago | Reply

hi, this is no issue to blog on and i as a crew know it that when we go to india , indians dont even allow us to stand on stairs . .. God forbids if any technical or emergency happen indians don't even allow for water from there airport and we have to stay on board no matter for how many hours and days so its governmental issue.

Kush | 10 years ago | Reply

@Rauf Firstly, the many people you are referring to are passengers not operating crew. They need to have proper surrounding and amenities to rest at, otherwise it's a flight safety issue. About authorities following rules they did not....be well avrsed with rules before commenting. The usual visa rules apply only to passengers. Operating crew are allowed entry into the country based on a General Declaration, regardless of nationality, if the host country is signatory to such conventions, which they are hence they did break rules.

Secondly, about India allowing Pakistani Nationals to stay in India. A lot of international airlines like Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabian airlines have night halts in India, where the operating crew are Pakistani nationals and are allowed to stay and extended every possible courtesy as a person from any other nationality would.

So, what Pakistani authorities did. Was to say the least wrong and against any International conventions, also to state that a major airline not fly with crew to certain geographical areas based purely on their nationality sounds discriminatory.

SHB | 10 years ago | Reply

ET should not waste time of its reader by projecting these kind of no news. Please have some mercy on your readers. Thanks

Rauf | 10 years ago | Reply Its not a big issue many people sleep at the airports worldwide. If they slept ath the airport then there is nothing wrong in it. Visa is requirement for many countries to leave the airport specially if the country is on negative list. They should understand this. For Qatar airways, they should not send Indian crew to Pakistan and vice versa to avoid any such unpleasant situation in the future. Why to make hue and cry for such a petty issue.

Imran Khalid | 10 years ago | Reply

Would Indians allow any Pakistani to stay in India without Visa and other requirements?. Moreover FIA authorities just followed the rules; they did nothing wrong in this case. ET should not care about such matters.

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