Govt will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus COVID-19: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday said that it will operate at least 64 flights between May 7 to May 13 to bring back Indians stranded in foreign countries. “64 flights will be operated from May 7 to May 13 to bring back stranded Indians from abroad,’’ Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

In the first week, Air India will be conducting all the flights, the Aviation Minister said adding that private airlines will be considered going forward.

Sharing more information, the Civil Aviation Minister said, “The government of India will operate two special flights from Doha to India. The 1st on 7th May from Doha to Kochi and 2nd on 10th May from Doha to Thiruvananthapuram.’’

Puri, however, said that the Indians stranded abroad will be charged for flights bringing them home. ''All passengers will be charged on repatriation flights. Rs 50,000 per passenger for London-Delhi flight, Rs 12,000 for Dhaka-Delhi flight,'' the Minister said.

He also stated that those arriving by repatriation flights will be screened and put under a 14-day quarantine. The Minister added that all prescribed health guidelines will be followed while bringing the passengers home.

The Aviation Minister further added, ''Out of 64 flights to bring back stranded Indians from abroad, 11 from nine countries will land in Tamil Nadu.’’

The move follows intense criticism against the government that it earlier flew Indians stranded abroad home for free while the migrant labourers were asked to pay for their special train tickets.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi had attacked the Centre when she said her party will pay for the tickets of stranded migrants. Defending itself, the Indian Railways said they were charging state governments just 15% of the calculated train fare for the special trains and it was for the states to bear this cost or get the migrant workers to pay.

Central government officials have, for days, been telling state governments not to encourage migrant workers to travel. It would not only slow down the economic revival process and make the recovery process longer but also could, as the World Bank had also warned south Asian countries, spread the vector across the region.

On Friday, the Centre gave in to pressure from state governments which had been demanding special trains to take the stranded workers home and operated the first train between Telangana and Jharkhand.