Indian airlines to operate repatriation flights for UAE-bound expats under Vande Bharat Mission

Indian civil aviation authorities announced on Thursday that UAE-bound expats currently stuck in India can fly back to the emirates on the Indian government's Vande Bharat Mission flights for a period of 15 days starting July 12. An agreement for the same has been signed between the civil aviation authorities of the two countries, putting an end to the long traumatic wait for hundreds of Indians.

New Delhi: In a big relief for thousands of UAE-bound expats stranded in India, the central government on Tuesday announced the resumption of flights from India to the UAE for a period of 15 days starting July 12.

"As part of the close strategic partnership between the Governments of India and the UAE, and with a view of assisting UAE residents nationals who are at present in India to return to the UAE, the Civil Aviation Authorities of both countries have agreed to operationalise the following arrangement from 12 July 2020," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

The Ministry said that charter flights operated by UAE carriers to bring Indian citizens from UAE to India will be allowed to carry ICA (Federation Authority for Identity and Citizenship) approved UAE residents (returning to UAE from India) on their return leg (India to UAE).

"Indian Carriers operating repatriation flights to bring Indian citizens from UAE to India will be allowed to carry the ICA approved UAE residents (returning to UAE from India) on the outward journey from India to UAE, " another clause of the Ministry of Civil Aviation read.

In India to the UAE journey, all these flights will carry only those passengers who are destined for the UAE, the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, Air India and Air India Express have confirmed that it will operate repatriation flights to the UAE under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Earlier, the Indian government had stopped UAE-based airlines from operating charter flights. This was in response to the UAE government after it announced that the passengers need to take approvals for visiting the country on the Vande Bharat Mission flights operated by Air India.

India suspended all scheduled international passenger flights on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the government started the Vande Bharat Mission on May 6 under which Air India and other Indian private carriers have been operating unscheduled repatriation flights for Indians who are stuck abroad.

After nearly two months of the lockdown, domestic flights in India started operating in a calibrated manner from May 25.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had on June 20 said that the government will start thinking on the resumption of scheduled international passenger flights in mid-July when it expects the domestic air traffic to reach 50-55%.