India's Vistara airline to run special flights on Mumbai-Dubai route
Indiaa expected to extend air bubble deal with UAE beyond August 31
Mumbai: India’s Vistara airline will operate special flights between Mumbai and Dubai between August 27 and August 29.
The joint venture of Indian conglomerate Tata Group and Singapore Airlines chartered all the teams flying to the UAE to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the most followed sporting events in the world. (India’s domestic competition was shifted on concerns about the mounting number of COVID-19 cases)
Vistara is not the only airline to fly between the two countries. SpiceJet is operating scheduled flights between Dubai and five Indian cities – Delhi, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Madurai and Mumbai - until August 31.
Emirates had earlier announced repatriation flights to Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram from August 20 until August 31 – the last day of the 'air bubble' agreement between the two countries.
Industry sources expect the Indian government to extend air bubble arrangements with countries until things begin to improve on bringing down infection cases.