During the second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission, 30,000 Indians are being brought back in India from 31 countries on board 149 flights between May 16 and 22.
Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have operated 31 inbound flights during the first five days of Vande Bharat mission, bringing 6,037 stranded Indians home amid the coronavirus triggered lockdown, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Tuesday.
Kerala top the list of state-wise break-up of repatriation requests with 25,246, followed by 6,617 from Tamil Nadu and 4,341 from Maharashtra. A total of 3,715 people from Uttar Pradesh requested for evacuation, 3,320 from Rajasthan, 2,796 from Telangana and, 2,786 from Karnataka.
They said stranded Indians in central Asia as well as in various European countries will be brought back home in the second phase of evacuation beginning May 15.
India's last three major commercial aviation accidents --Patna (2000), Mangaluru (2010), and Kozhikode (2020) -- could offer critical safety lessons for the ongoing investigation.
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.
Air India is operating the San Francisco sector after 50 days as India had imposed restrictions due to COVID-19 spread.
But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under the bilateral 'air bubble' arrangements with selected countries since July.
The MoCA said on Twitter on Wednesday that it 'has designated all the airlines operating under Vande Bharat Mission & air transport bubble arrangements as designated agencies for this purpose'. 'Passengers may book tickets directly with the airlines concerned. They need not apply/register with the Ministry of Civil Aviation,' it added.
Launching its biggest ever repatriation exercise, India on Thursday airlifted 363 of its citizens, including nine infants, stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to the international travel lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till October 31, India's aviation regulator DGCA said on Tuesday. "However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation added. Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India will keep its scheduled international passenger flights suspended till January 31 next year, aviation regulator DGCA said on Thursday.
India has formed air-bubble pacts with around 28 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom. the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Bhutan and France.
Scheduled international passenger services continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till July 31, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
The DGCA circular also said that the suspension does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it.
India has formed air bubble pacts with around 27 countries including the US, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under an air bubble pact between two countries, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.
Under the graded relaxation, the government has decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas, except electronic visa, tourist visa and medical visa, the statement said.
The building has been sealed for two days to conduct a thorough sanitisation of the building after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus.
A video of Tamil Nadu students holed up in some kind of a facility showed a number of youth cramped with their belongings, making the appeal to the government to ensure their safety and take all steps for their early return home.
International scheduled flights, however, may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis, the circular added.
According to a ministry of home affairs order, those allowed to travel to India include OCI cardholders who wish to come to the country on account of family emergencies. Minor children born to Indian nationals abroad and holding OCI cards, couples where one spouse is an OCI cardholder and the other is an Indian national and they have a permanent residence in India, and university students who are OCI cardholders (not legally minors) but whose parents are Indian citizens living in India were also allowed to visit the country.
'Pleasure to meet FM Sergey Lavrov, this time in person. Excellent talks that reflect our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Value our exchanges on the international situation,' Jaishankar tweeted after talks with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the SCO meeting.
Two landings were aborted by pilots due to tailwind.
IndiGo on Monday said it will refund all customer credit shells, which were created when flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, by January 31, 2021. The airline in a statement said it has already processed close to Rs 1,000 crore of refunds, which is approximately 90 per cent of the total amount it owed to its customers.
A crew member tested at the temporary facility there was found positive for COVID-19, senior airline officials said.
Praying for those affected by the aircraft accident in Kozhikode, said Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli
"When the A320 plane, which did not have any passengers as it was heading to Moscow to bring back stranded Indians under Vande Bharat Mission, had reached Uzbekistan's airspace, our team on ground realised that one of the pilots had tested COVID-positive," senior Air India officials said.
Separately, China is also processing requests of thousands of Indian students studying in Chinese universities who have conveyed their interest to re-join their colleges and universities.
In further easing of restrictions, the government on Wednesday permitted Indian airlines to increase the number of domestic passenger flights to 60 per cent of their pre-Covid services, according to an official order.
Sathe had suffered multiple injuries on his skull in that incident, but due to his strong will power and passion he cleared the test and started flying again, his cousin said.
The United States has described as "discriminatory and restrictive" the Indian government not allowing American carriers operate chartered flights on Indo-US routes even though Air India was doing so under the Vande Bharat Mission.
All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to contain the novel cornavirus pandemic.
The aviation ministry stated it has decided to review the on-board meal services in domestic flights considering "the increasing threat of COVID-19 and its variants".
Three passengers, including a British national of Goan-origin, who arrived at the international airport near here on a flight from the United Kingdom on early Friday, tested positive for COVID-19, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said.
However, this restriction would not be applicable for international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA.
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Addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting, Modi said he relished all these challenges during the pandemic and the country also overcame them.
The aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday that it was extending the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till July 31 but added that some international scheduled services on selected routes may be permitted on a case to case basis. Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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