Vande Bharat 2.0: 56 Flights Bring Back Indians From 12 Countries

Aviation Minister said the 2nd phase of the mission will bring back 30,000 more Indians from 31 countries.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday, 13 May, that the second phase of the Vande Bharat mission will bring back 30,000 more Indians from 31 countries on 149 flights which, he said, would be double in terms of the numbers in the first phase.

A Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson stated on Thursday, “Today is Day 8 of Vande Bharat Mission, as of now, 56 flights have brought back our nationals from 12 countries. In addition, 904 Indians were repatriated from Maldives by INS Jalashwa and INS Magar on 10 and 12 May respectively.”

"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," he tweeted, adding that flyers have to pay for these services and will undergo a paid 14-day quarantine in their destination states.

In 1st phase of Vande Bharat we were to bring back 14,800 Indians on 64 flights. 8500 Indians have already returned till this 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. pic.twitter.com/2ysniHHw04

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 13, 2020

Phase-1 flew to Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, UK & USA. Flyers have to pay for these services & will undergo a paid 14-day quarantine in their destination states. All prescribed preventive measures will be taken. pic.twitter.com/B6pE3p8Nqh

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 13, 2020

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According to the schedule, the Vande Bharat mission will carry on from 17 May to 3 June 2020. Over 85 flights will be operated from 17-31 May, which will arrive in Delhi from London, Dubai, Riyadh, Toronto, Singapore, Melbourne and more.

More than 10 flights will be operated from 1-3 June bringing back people from Lagos, Dublin, Moscow, etc.

The maximum flights, 11, will be from the UAE under the second phase of the mission, followed by eight flights from Oman, and seven flights each from USA, Kazakhstan and Australia.

In the biggest-ever repatriation mission since the Gulf war, the government has also deployed naval ships to bring back Indians.

As per the first phase of Vande Bharat Mission, stranded Indians from US, UK, Malaysia, Philippines and various other countries have been brought back to India. The first phase was scheduled from 7 to 14 May.

Repatriation of Indians from abroad have been taking place under 'Vande Bharat Mission’, first phase of which started on 7 May to bring back over 14,000 stranded Indians via 64 relief flights.