Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday stated that Phase-4 of Vande Bharat mission will dovetail into Phase-5 from August 1, 2020, to bring back more Indian citizens stranded in various parts of the world.
The phase-5 of the Vande Bharat Mission will bring back Indians from USA, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Singapore, UK, Frankfurt, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand , Philippines & more.
He also said that more destinations and flights will be added as the phase progresses.
"Among other destinations, Ph-5 will connect India with USA, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Singapore, UK, Frankfurt, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand , Philippines & more. Like we did earlier, more destinations & flights will be added as this phase progresses," Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted.
He said that details about ticket bookings will be shared by Air India shortly.
"Details about ticket bookings will be shared by @airindiain @FlyWithIX& other airlines shortly. It is our earnest effort to reach out to every stranded & distressed Indian & facilitate their evacuation & outbound travel. I request you to kindly exercise patience & bear with us," Hardeep Singh Puri further stated.
More than 814,000 stranded Indians have returned through various means under VBM since 6 May 2020, out of which more than 270K returned on flights from 53 countries, the civil aviation minister said.
Vande Bharat Mission is being carried out by the Indian government to evacuate Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus pandemic.
The first phase of the mission commenced on May 7.
Apart from the Vande Bharat Mission, Puri hinted that international flights can resume through bilateral air bubbles between countries till the COVID-19 situation returns to normalcy.
"Till international civil aviation can reclaim its pre-COVID numbers, I think the answer will lie through bilateral air bubbles which will carry a possible number of people but under defined conditions as countries are still imposing entry restrictions including India," Puri said at a media briefing on Thursday.
On the negations with various countries over air bubbles, Puri said talks are at a very advance stage with at least three countries - France, US and Germany.