Kochi, May 7: Air India Express, the subsidiary of national carrier Air India, announced that tickets for the special repatriation flight to Bahrain are open for sale. The flight will depart from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and land at Manama airport in Bahrain, said an official spokesperson of the airliner. The flight will be operational on May 8 and May 11. Air India's First Repatriation Flight With 177 Onboard Lands in Kochi From Abu Dhabi, 49 Women Among Returnees Pregnant.

Only nationals of Bahrain and permanent residents of the Gulf country, who were stranded in Kerala since the imposition of coronavirus lockdown, would be allowed to board the repatriation flight, the carrier clarified.

"Tickets for Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) to Bahrain flight is open for sale. Only Bahrain Nationals and permanent residents of Bahrain can travel by this flight," the Air India Express Spokesperson was reported as saying.

Update by ANI

The Indian government has initiated the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded in the Middle East, the United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia and Singapore. The first repatriation flight, with 177 Indians including 49 pregnant women returned from Abu Dhabi to Kochi on Thursday.

Over the next week's period, the Indian government would be operating around 64 flights of Air India Express to bring back over 14,000 Indians stranded in the Gulf countries. The repatriation flights are on payment-basis, with a charge of Rs 15,000-18,000 being levied on passengers returning from Middle East. The London-Delhi flight tickets will be charged at Rs 50,000, whereas, the flights that will bring back Indians from the United States will charge around Rs 1 lakh per ticket.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 07, 2020 11:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).