More than 8.14 lakh stranded Indians returned under Vande Bharat Mission, says Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri

Minister said the details about ticket bookings of Phase 5 will be shared by Air India, Air India Express and other airlines shortly.

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New Delhi: The Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday (July 26, 2020) stated that more than 8.14 lakh stranded Indians have so far returned under the Vande Bharat Mission.

The Minister took to his official Twitter account and wrote, "More than 814K stranded Indians have returned through various means under VBM since 6 May 2020, out of which more than 270K returned on flights from 53 countries."

He added that the Centre is now preparing to dovetail Phase-4 of Vande Bharat Mission into Phase-5 from August 1 and bring back more Indian citizens.

More than 814K stranded Indians have returned through various means under VBM since 6 May 2020, out of which more than 270K returned on flights from 53 countries.

Now we prepare to dovetail Phase-4 of VBM into Phase-5 from 1st August 2020 & bring back more Indian citizens. — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) July 26, 2020

The Phase-5 will connect India with places like the United States, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Singapore, United Kingdom, Frankfurt, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand, and the Philippines. 

"Like we did earlier, more destinations & flights will be added as this phase progresses," expressed Puri.

He said the details about ticket bookings will be shared by Air India, Air India Express and other airlines shortly. 

"It is our earnest effort to reach out to every stranded & distressed Indian & facilitate their evacuation & outbound travel. I request you to kindly exercise patience & bear with us," added Puri.