'If we can't pay up, we will forfeit our passports'

Mumbai: This is the note cash-strapped Indians had to sign at Cairo airport, in return for travelling back on AI's special flight, as banks were shut in the troubled land
Indian nationals, trapped in the turmoil in Egypt without a penny to pay for travel, could return to the safety of their homeland only after pledging to pay the carrier as soon as they landed.
Desperate to get out of the country where ATMs are out of order, banks shut, and normal life uprooted, they signed promissory notes to AI officials at Cairo airport, so they would be allowed to board the special ferry aircraft.
Being the designated national carrier, Air India has been pressed into service to bring back Indian nationals like these left out on a limb in Egypt
"If we fail to make the payment after landing in India you may forfeit our passport," the notes read.
"As Egyptian airlines ceased operations, we had one option - to board the Air India special flight.
We didn't have any cash to buy the ticket. The ATMs were shut, banks closed and no credit card facilities were available.
So we gave written assurances that if we failed to make the payment after reaching India, our passports may be forfeited," said Pankaj Sharma (37).
He boarded the first rescue flight after signing an assurance that he will pay the airline Rs 45,000 for his ticket.
Sharma was staying at a hotel close to Tahrir Square, the area that witnessed violent upheaval, where Egyptian authorities detained many journalists to remove witnesses to the anti-government protests.
05/02/11 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Categories: Air India Feb 2011, Airports Feb 2011, Foreign Feb 2011