Tag: repatriation flights updates

The Indian government has decided to allow certain categories of foreigners, including Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, to enter India amid restrictions on the entry of people from abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those allowed entry into India are married couples one of whom is an OCI cardholder and another Indian national, and students who are OCI cardholders and whose one parent is Indian or an OCI cardholder. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed certain categories of foreigners, including OCI cardholders and minors who hold OCI cards and whose parents are Indian nationals, a senior ... Read more

The Kerala government has made it mandatory for those boarding chartered flights to produce a certificate stating they have tested negative for Covid-19. Over one lakh expatriates are expected to reach Kerala from West Asian countries on chartered flights in coming weeks. The state has so far given sanction for 750 chartered flights. The direction by principal secretary E Ellangovan stated that this condition applies to all flights for which consent letters have been issued earlier. For cases in which a Covid-19 patient requires urgent medical care, air ambulance provision may be availed, it stated. Norka Roots, the non-resident Keralite welfare ... Read more

Air India on Friday stated that 10 additional flights will be operated to and from the USA under the third phase of the Vande Bharat Mission. These flights will be operated between June 20 and July 3 to bring back Indians stranded in America. Bookings for the same will open on June 13 from 6 pm onwards on the Air India website.  The 10 additional flights comprise four, to and from, New York and one each, to and from, San Francisco and Chicago.  Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava has said  that the Vande Bharat Mission has repatriated a ... Read more

hartered flights from UAE to Kerala have become cheaper, with voluntary organisations like Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) securing nod to operate 70 of them. With this, around 1.25 lakh people from Gulf countries are likely to reach the state shortly. A total of 407 chartered flights are waiting for permission to fly to Kerala carrying NRIs stranded in these countries. The ticket rates in KMCC-chartered flights from UAE to Kozhikode have come down from AED 1250 (around Rs 25,000) earlier this month, to AED 990 (around Rs 20,000) for the flight operated on June 11, according to a report ... Read more

International passengers flying into Kerala can directly observe 14 days of home quarantine, without having to spend a week in institutional quarantine. Passengers who wish to stay separately can avail the government’s paid quarantine facilities, which will be arranged in a hotel or tourist home.  Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that those who are allowed home quarantine must arrange their own private vehicles or e-taxis. They should notify the police, the local self -government departments and the district collector of their arrival.  Previously, air passengers coming into Kerala had to mandatorily spend a week in institutional quarantine. Those who ... Read more

There is a saying that greater are the chances of Arabs learning Malayalam, than Malayalis learning Arabic, in the UAE. If there is one Indian state that has been able to pull its weight during lockdown, as far as the Gulf countries are concerned, it is Kerala. Sensing the strong demand, India has announced 44 more repatriation flights from the UAE to Kerala. These flights will operate from June 19 to 30. Population-wise and in terms of the number of stranded Indians registered to fly back home from the UAE, Malayalis outnumber Indian expats from other states. The readiness of ... Read more

Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have so far ferried 66,831 Indians from overseas on 365 flights, as part of its repatriation drive. Another 17,180 passengers have travelled on 369 outbound flights by the national carrier to various foreign countries, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday. Air India opened bookings on Friday, for around 300 flights to various countries like the USA and the UK, under the third phase of its Vande Bharat Mission. The airline faced an overwhelming demand for tickets, which were sold out in no time, forcing it to increase the number ... Read more

As part of its repatriation drive, India has announced additional flights from Doha, to meet demand. The Indian Embassy in Qatar has updated a list of repatriation flights from Doha to various cities in India. These flights are set to operate between June 9 and June 19. Air India Express will now be operating flights from Doha to Coimbatore, Delhi, Kannur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Trichy. The third phase of Vande Bharat Mission is set to commence on June 11 and will be carried out until June 30.

Air India will be opening its bookings for special repatriation flights from various destinations in the USA and Canada, starting June 8. In a tweet the airline said, “Indian citizens and OCI cardholders who wish to travel to India on evacuation flights under the Vande Bharat Mission, from USA and Canada, may kindly book tickets through the Air India website for flights on or after 11th June ’20.” The air carrier further stated that it is mandatory for the applicants to be registered with the Local Embassy/High Commission, for the same. Tickets on the Air India website will be available ... Read more

National carrier Air India has opened bookings for those passengers who meet the eligibility criteria and wish to travel from India to London, Singapore and select destinations in the United States on flights that will operate between May 8 to May 14, a statement from the airline said. “We would like to inform all those who wish to travel from India to London, Singapore and select destinations in the USA on Air India flights operating between May 8 and May 14 to click on http://www.airindia.in/r1landingpage.htm for booking. Passengers are requested to read the eligibility criteria carefully as available on the ... Read more