Dubai: A total of 11 flights to six Indian states have been included in the list of Indian repatriation flights from the UAE in its second phase, according to a list revealed by the Indian authorities on Tuesday.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed to Gulf News that 11 flights ,which include six to Kerala and one each to Telangana, Odisha, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, would be operated from the UAE in the second phase beginning from May 17.
Neeraj Agrawal, consul Press, Information and Culture, said the flights to Kerala would operate to all four international airports in the state, the people of which were the highest among the more than 200,000 Indians registered for repatriation from the UAE.
Ten flights to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi and Punjab were scheduled in the first phase of India’s massive repatriation named Vande Bharat Mission which began on May 7.
Apart from Tuesday’s flights from Dubai to Kannur in Kerala and Mangalore in Karnataka, authorities later added one more destination –Bhubaneswar in Odisha in the first phase.
The repatriation flight to Bhubaneswar on Thursday May 14th will be the first ever international flight to land in the capital city of Odisha, Agrawal confirmed.
Community members from the state had lobbied for long to operate a direct flight from the UAE to Bhubaneswar. However, their dreams are fulfilling only during the COVID-19 crisis.
No repatriation flights are scheduled from the UAE on May 15 and 16 and the second phase is set to begin from May 17.
Agrawal said the routes, dates and timings of the flights are being finalised.
Meanwhile, the community members from Goa, who have been requesting for a repatriation flight to their state seem to be still in the waiting list as the government is yet to announce a flight to Goa in the second phase also.
While the flights are announced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Indian missions in the UAE are in charge of shortlisting the passengers based on the compelling reasons mentioned while they registered their details with the mission.
