JOIN US149 flights to evacuate 30,000 stranded Indians, 17 flights Karnataka-bound
Centre on Wednesday unveiled plans to evacuate 30,000 stranded Indians from 31 countries from May 16-22 on 149 flights, 16 of which will land in Bengaluru and one in Mangaluru.
The second phase of the ‘Vande Bharat’ mission will also include 30 connecting flights on domestic routes to ferry passengers from cities such as Vishakapatnam, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad to onward destinations.
“In 1st phase of Vande Bharat we were to bring back 14,800 Indians on 64 flights. 8,500 Indians have already returned till this (Wednesday) morning. More flights are underway. In the 2nd phase, the numbers are being doubled. 30,000 more Indians will return from 31 countries on 149 flights,” Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
As per the plans drawn up, Indians stranded in Melbourne, Vancouver, Toronto, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Jakarta, Washington, San Francisco, New York, Dammam, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Muscat and Doha would be able to fly directly into Bengaluru.
One flight will operate between Dubai and Mangaluru.
In the Phase-II, 31 flights will come to Kerala, 22 to Delhi, 17 to Karnataka, 16 to Telangana, 14 to Gujarat, 13 to Rajasthan, nine to Andhra Pradesh, seven to Punjab, six each to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, three to Odisha, two to Chandigarh, and one each to Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Out of the 149 flights under Vande Bharat-II, 13 flights will come from the US, 11 from the UAE, 10 from Canada, nine each from Saudi Arabia and the UK, eight each from Malaysia and Oman, seven each from Kazakhstan and Australia.
“Phase-2 of Vande Bharat from 16-22 May will also include flights from Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand & Ukraine,” Puri said.
Six flights each will come from Ukraine, Qatar, Indonesia and Russia, five from the Philippines, four each from France, Singapore, Ireland and Kyrgyzstan, three each from Kuwait and Japan, two each from Georgia, Germany, Tajikistan, Bahrain and Armenia, and one each from Thailand, Italy, Nepal, Belarus, Nigeria, and Bangladesh.
During the first phase of the Vande Bharat mission, Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express are scheduled to operate a total 64 flights between May 7 and May 14 to bring 14,800 Indians from 12 countries on a payment basis.