India to operate 270 repatriation flights out of UAE from October 1

Dubai: India will operate a further 270 repatriation flights out of the UAE starting October 1, essentially for those expats wanting to return to their homes after the pandemic disruption. The new schedule, which will run until October 25, constitutes the seventh phase of the country's repatriation mission, known as Vande Bharat.

The state-owned budget airline, Air India Express, will operate these flights. They may be supplemented later, if needed, by other Indian carriers.

These flights will depart from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, bound, in many instances for multiple domestic destinations in India. The seventh phase of the repatriation covers a number of new airports in India. This will mean Indians in the UAE can directly reach their final destination without having to take a connecting flight or transit at other airports.

The schedule also includes flights to bring back Indians from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In Oman, the flights will operate from both Muscat and Salalah airports. From Saudi Arabia, the airports of origin are Dammam and Riyadh.

In the reverse direction, 269 flights will be operated to the UAE from Indian cities by Air India Express during the 24 days from October 1.