Vande Bharat Mission: Over 5.8 Lakh People Stranded Abroad Due to COVID-19 Returned to India

New Delhi, July 9: Over 6.6 lakh have people registered with India’s Vande Bharat Mission. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, of the total number of people registered with India’s missions abroad for repatriation, over 5.8 people stranded abroad due to COVID-19 have returned to India under the Mission Vande Bharat. Currently, the fourth phase of the mission is underway.

Anurag Srivastava, the official spokesperson of the MEA, said, “As on July 8 2020, against a total number of 6,61,352 persons who registered their request with our Missions abroad for repatriation to India, over 5,80,000 have returned under this mission.” In the fourth phase of the Mission Vande Bharat 637 international flights have already been scheduled and these flights would service 29 airports in India. India, UAE Allow Their Airlines to Carry People on Both Legs of Charter Flights Between Jul 12-26.

MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava's Statement:

Earlier in the day, the Centre announced an additional 104 special repatriation flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India as part of the fourth phase of the Vande Bharat Mission. These flights will be operated from July 15-31. Each flight will have a capacity of 177 passengers. The government had started the mission on May 6.

Meanwhile, international flight services in India will remain suspended till July 31. However, some international scheduled flights may be selected routes. The Civil Aviation Ministry on March 23 had suspended all domestic and international flights to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. Meanwhile, India resumed domestic flights on May 25.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 09, 2020 06:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).