PremiumUnder the Modi govt's flagship Vande Bharat Mission, Air India and Air India Express will operate 64 flights to 13 countries to fly back 14,800 stranded Indian citizens. Not only to the rescue for of the stranded citizens abroad, Air India is also booking tickets to fly people out of India to the US, UK and Singapore.
Air India and Air India Express will repatriate stranded Indian citizens from Gulf countries, Southeast Asia, US and UK. According to civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri, over 200,000 Indians abroad had registered for repatriation and that the final number could be twice that. Apart from the Air India and Air India Express flights, two ships - under the Samundra Setu mission - were also sent off to Maldives to repatriate some 1,000 Indian citizens while another was headed for the Gulf.
The Air India flights will be operated from 7th May to 15th May, as the aviation ministry's schedule indicate.
The herculean task of bringing Indians back kicked off on Thursday when two Air India Express flights landed in India with 363 people on board.
Check Air India repatriate flight schedule:
This is Air India's full schedule till 10th of May, you can check the remaining updated schedule by clicking here.
Check eligibility and other terms and conditions here:
A) For people who are stuck in the foreign lands and want to return to India, Ministry of Home Affairs has put out a detailed guidelines:
1) Priority will be given to compelling cases in distress, including migrant workers/ labourers who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with expiry of visas, persons with medical emergency/ pregnant women/ elderly, those required to return to India due to death of family member, and students.
2) Stranded citizens will have to register themselves with the Indian Missions in the country where they are stranded, along with necessary details as prescribed by MEA.
3) The cost of travel will be borne by the travellers.
4) Before boarding, all travellers shall give an undertaking that they would undergo mandatory institutional quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days on arrival in India, at their own cost.
5) At the time of boarding the flight/ ship, MEA will facilitate thermal screening as per health protocol. Only asymptomatic travellers would be allowed to board the flight/ ship
6) All passengers shall be asked to download ArogyaSetu app on their mobile devices.
7) MEA will display with at least two days notice, the schedule (day, place and time of arrival) of the incoming flight/ ship, on their online digital platform.
B) For movement of persons stranded in India who are desirous to travel abroad:
1) Only those persons shall be allowed to travel to the destination countries, who are citizens of that country; who hold visa of at least one year duration of that country; and green card or OCI card holder.
2) In cases of medical emergency or death in the family, Indian Nationals holding six month visa can also be allowed.
3) Before the tickets of such persons are confirmed, MoCA will ensure that the destination country allows entry of such persons in that country. The conditions, if any, imposed by the destination country, will have to be fulfilled by the person intending to travel.
4) The cost of travel, as specified by MoCA, will be borne by such travellers. vi. At the time of boarding the flight, MoCA will ensure that all travellers undergo thermal screening as per health protocol. Only asymptomatic travellers would be allowed to board the flight. vii. While on board the flight, health protocol as issued by MoCA will be strictly followed
You can read the full standard operating procedure, put out by Ministry of Home Affairs, by clicking here.
What will be the Air India flight fares:
For a Flight to London from Mumbai on the 8th May, the cheapest fare is ₹62,960. It is ₹175,922 for business class, and ₹230,018 for the first class.
For a 8th May flight to San Francisco from Delhi, Air India is charging ₹104,155 for economy class, ₹303,553 for business class, and ₹401,553 for the first class.
All the interested people can check the schedule mentioned above and then go to this link and search their respective international flights.
The government had charged prices reportedly ranging from ₹12,000 for a ticket from Dubai to ₹100,000 rupees to fly back from the United States.
