Vande Bharat Mission To Enter Phase 4 From July 3rd, Air India To Operate 170 Flights

The government started the Vande Bharat Mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations using special repatriation flights.

(Photo by Indo-Tibetan Border Police / HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced that the Vande Bharat Mission will enter phase 4 on July 3. Air India will operate a total of 170 flights including 31 flights to the US, 19 to the UK, 9 to Canada & 8 to Australia. The government started the mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations using special repatriation flights. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. ALSO READ|New Normal For AC Trains, Passengers To Breathe In Operation Theatre Like Fresh Air Under the fourth phase of the mission, Air India will be conducting 170 flights connecting India with Canada, the US, the UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa, Russia, Australia, Myanmar, Japan, Ukraine, and Vietnam, as per the airline’s document accessed by the PTI. These 170 chartered flights under the fourth phase are scheduled to be operated between July 3 and 15, it stated. A total of 38 flights and 32 flights will be operated on Indo-UK and Indo-US routes, respectively, as per the document.

VBM enters Phase 4 on 3rd July 2020. In this phase, @AirIndiain will operate 114 flights (between 3-15 July) including 31 flights to US, 19 to UK, 9 to Canada & 8 to Australia. AI Express will operate 300 flights in July (136 upto 14 July & 164 between 15 July & 31July).

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) June 28, 2020

Meanwhile, Air India Express will operate 300 flights in July including 136 up to 14 July & 164 between 15 July & 31 July. The Ministry also stated that private airlines have volunteered to contribute significantly to the new phase. operating around 498 flights. The first phase was from May 7 to 16, following which the second phase began. Air India is scheduled to operate 495 chartered flights to and from various countries in the third phase, which began on June 10 and it will end on July 4. The first phase was from May 7 to 16, following which the second phase began. ALSO READ|Maharashtra Lockdown Restrictions Will Not Be Lifted After June 30: CM Uddhav Thackeray The US Department of Transportation announced on June 22 that it has barred Air India from operating chartered flights between India and the United States from July 22 without its prior approval, in apparent retaliation for the Indian government not allowing American carriers to operate between the two countries. Therefore, on June 23, the Aviation Ministry had said that it was considering establishing "individual bilateral bubbles" with the US, the UK, Germany, and France allowing airlines of each country in the pact to operate international passenger flights. After nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak, the government resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights from May 25 but in a curtailed manner and by placing lower and upper limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration. ALSO WATCH|From friend to foe: The story of the deterioration of India-China friendship