Indian Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday announced that the government is planning to operate 64 Air India flights between May 7 and 13 to bring home stranded citizens from abroad.
All 64 flights will be operated by Air India till May 13, after which private airlines can join the effort, said the minister.
The 64 flights include: UAE – 10 flights; Qatar – 2 flights; Saudi Arabia – 5 flights; UK – 7 flights; Singapore – 5 flights; United States – 7 flights; Philippines – 5 flights; Bangladesh – 7 flights; Bahrain – 2 flights; Malaysia – 7 flights; Kuwait – 5 flights; and Oman – 2 flights.
In a recent exclusive interview with Connected to India, High Commissioner Jawed Ashraf had shared how the consulate has taken the lead in ensuring that Indians in Singapore get all the help they need.
11 of these flights, from nine countries, will land in Tamil Nadu. All those being repatriated will be screened and put under 14-day quarantine.
Connected to India has been able to get hold of the flight plan for Week 1 of the evacuation.
Passengers on these repatriation flights will be charged – INR 50,000 per passenger for the London to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad flights; INR 12,000 for the Dhaka to Delhi flights; INR 1 lakh for Chicago-Delhi-Hyderabad flights.