New Delhi, Sep 16: Air India earned a revenue of Rs 2556.60 crore from flights that have been operated under the Vande Bharat mission till August 31, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Central government started the mission from May 6 to help people stranded in different countries reach their destinations through special international flights.

"As on 31.08.2020, the total number of inbound and outbound special repatriation flights undertaken by the Air India group was 4,505," Puri said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Out of a total of about 11 lakh Indian nationals repatriated till August 31, about four lakh passengers were carried by the Air India group into India, the minister mentioned.

In addition, the Air India group also carried about 1.9 lakh outbound passengers (including foreigners) to foreign destinations from India, the minister noted.

"The revenue generated by Air India group from Vande Bharat flights up to 31.08.2020 is Rs 2556.60 crore," Puri stated.