New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri described the evacuation process of Indians stuck abroad due to coronavirus. Hardeep Singh Puri said said 30,000 Indians will return from 31 countries on 149 flights between May 16 and 22. This is the total duration for the second phase of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, said the minister.
During the first phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express are scheduled to operate a total 64 flights. The flights will take place May 7 and May 14. They will bring back 14,800 Indians from 12 countries on a payment basis.
Air India and Air India Express are also operating forward domestic flights after few international flights. This is to help passengers reach their destinations within the country amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.
“Phase II of Vande Bharat from 16-22 May will include flights from many countries. Among them are Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Flights will also go to Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand and Ukraine,” Puri said.
The minister said that 8,500 Indians have already returned till Wednesday morning. More flights are underway as part of phase I of the Vande Bharat Mission.
“In phase I of Vande Bharat we were to bring back 14,800 Indians on 64 flights. In the 2nd phase the numbers are being doubled. Around 30,000 more Indians will return from 31 countries on 149 flights,” Puri stated.
A total of 149 repatriation flights will take place under phase II. Thirty one flights, the maximum, will land in Kerala. It will be followed by Delhi (22), Karnataka (17), Telangana (16), Gujarat (14), Rajasthan (12), Andhra Pradesh (nine) and Punjab (seven).
There will be six flights each for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh while three flights will be Odisha. Two flights will land in Chandigarh. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir will host one flight each.
Apart from aerial evacuation, the Indian Navy has deployed two of its ships to repatriate Indians from abroad. Since March 7, these two ships have repatriated approximately 1,000 Indians from Maldives.
India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended for the lockdown period.
PTI