Emirates to operate repatriation flights to five Indian cities from July 12 to 26

In a big relief to Indians stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Dubai-based airline Emirates will fly daily flights to Bengaluru and four other cities from July 12 to 26. Emirates announced this after getting the green signal from Civil Aviation authorities in India and UAE.

Two flights are scheduled daily from Dubai to Bengaluru, Delhi and Kochi. Mumbai will get three flights every day during the period, while one daily flight is scheduled to Thiruvananthapuram. It is learnt that the flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai are subject to the approval of the respective state governments.

Only Indians stranded in Dubai will be allowed to the board the flight to Bengaluru. Emirates is expected to operate its flights EK565 and EK567 on the Boeing 777-300ER platforms, aviation sources said.

Emirates, it is learnt, will also operate the flights from India to Dubai. However, these repatriation flights will be available only for UAE nationals and residents with prior entry approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDFRA).

Before boarding the flights to Dubai, passengers will have to obtain a negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) certificate issued by an Indian government-authorised laboratory. Travellers will be allowed on the flight only if the certificates produced are issued no more than 96 hours before departure.

More information for returning UAE residents can be found at https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/flying-to-and-from-dubai/

Meanwhile, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) recorded a total of 3,863 scheduled Air Traffic Movements (Departures and Arrivals) during June 2020. IndiGo, with 2,065 departures and arrivals accounted for 53.4% of the ATMs, with 13.8% each by SpiceJet (535 ATMs) and AirAsia India (535).

The ATM share of the other airlines during the month was: Air India (295 ATMs, 7.6%), GoAir (176 ATMs, 4.5%), TruJet (112, 2.9%), StarAir (87, 2.2%) and Vistara (58 ATMs, 1.5%). Domestic flights had resumed operations on May 25. The June 2020 ATM figures are nowhere near the pre-Covid numbers recorded at KIA, the country’s third busiest airport.