Approximately, 2000 people from abroad will fly back to India daily. ( File photo)
Amid the coronavirus pandemic that led to lockdown in various countries, India is planning to operate over 60 special flights in a week to bring back thousands of its citizens stranded across the world. The operations will start from May 7, in phased manner.
According to the flight plan of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), 64 flights will be sent to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Malaysia, the UK, Singapore, Bangladesh, the Philippines and the US to repatriate stranded Indians.
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Kerala will send 15 flights for its residents- the maximum, followed by 11 each from Delhi-NCR and Tamil Nadu, seven from Maharashtra and Telangana, five from Gujarat, three each from Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka and one each from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The routes that are being considered include Manila-Chennai, Chicago-Delhi-Hyderabad, New York-Delhi-Hyderabad, Kuwait-Kozhikode and San Francisco-Delhi-Bengaluru. Approximately, 2000 people from abroad will fly back to India daily.
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The Indian Consulate in Dubai, in a statement, on Monday announced that “the cost of the tickets and other conditions for travel including quarantine requirements after reaching India, and health requirements to board the flight will be conveyed in due course and will have to be accepted by each passenger.”
Air tickets will only be issued to those on the passenger lists prepared by the Embassy or Consulate, the statement said.
Earlier, in a presentation by MEA,, it was estimated that of the 1 crore people who are currently abroad on an Indian passport, about 1,92,000 in dire need may be brought back in socially-distanced flights, provided they have proof of being Covid-19 negative.
The statement further said that the passengers will be medically screened before taking the flight. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel. During the journey, all passengers will have to follow protocols, such as the Health protocol, issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.