Revealed: 18 more Vande Bharat Mission repatriation flights from UAE to India

Dubai: Eighteen more repatriation flights from the UAE have been announced under phase four of India’s Vande Bharat Mission.

First repatriation flight from the UAE to Varanasi in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was among these flights, the tickets for which went on sale on Tuesday, officials from the Indian Consulate and Air India told Gulf News.

Except for two, these flights can also fly back UAE residents stuck in India till July 26 as per the special agreement made between the two countries.

The new flights will be a huge relief for Indians stranded on both sides as these serve the less-served cities in India under the Vande Bharat Mission during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ten of these are operated by Air India from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi while the rest are operated by Air India Express from Sharjah and Dubai, officials said.

On July 9, India announced 104 extra flights to repatriate stranded citizens in the UAE under phase four of the Vande Bharat Mission.

On the same day, the new agreement to allow these flights to carry UAE residents from India to the UAE was also announced. UAE carriers doing charter services for repatriation to India were also allowed to fly in Indians stuck home.

The special agreement was made for 15 days starting from July 12 to 26.

Here is the list of new flights in the order of airport and date of departure and airport of arrival:

Air India Express

Air India