National carrier Air India announced on July 5 that it will conduct 36 flights between the USA and India from July 11 to July 19, 2020, under the Vande Bharat Mission. Earlier, the Trump administration imposed restrictions against Air India’s Vande Bharat’ repatriation flights. These flights carried Indians from the USA amid the coronavirus pandemic. But on June 23, the Aviation Ministry stated that India now considers establishing “individual bilateral bubbles” with specific countries around the world. This includes the USA, UK, Germany and France. This allows airlines of each country in the pact to operate international flights. However, international flights for the public remains suspended till July 31.
Under Vande Bharat Mission, Air India To Operate 36 Flights Between USA & India
Air India announced that under the Vande Bharat Mission it will run 36 flights between the United States and India. This is from July 11 to July 19, 2020. In its statement, Air India said that tickets people can book tickets through the Air India website. The tickets remain effective from 20:00 hours (IST) on July 6. This is equivalent to New York (EDT 1030 hrs of July 6, 2020), Chicago (CDT 0930 hrs of July 6, 2020) & San Francisco (PDT 0730 hrs of July 6, 2020). Under the Vande Bharat Mission, a complete list of flights to bring back stranded Indians is put out.
#FlyAI : Kind attention please, an important update regarding flights between India and USA under Vande Bharat Mission. pic.twitter.com/O56TqBldvb
— Air India (@airindiain) July 5, 2020
The Trump administration earlier imposed restrictions on Air India’s ‘Vande Bharat’ repatriation flights ferrying Indians from the USA amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The US Department of Transportation also announced that it barred Air India from running chartered flights between the two countries without prior approval.
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Air India Will Conduct 170 Flights Connecting India To Various Countries Under Fourth Phase Of Vande Bharat Mission
The Aviation Ministry, on June 23 stated that India is considering establishing “individual bilateral bubbles”. This is with countries like the UK, USA, France and Germany. This will allow airlines of each country in the pact to operate international flights. According to the news agency, PTI under the fourth phase of the mission, Air India will conduct 170 flights. These flights will connect India with Canada, the UK, the UK, Kenya, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa, Russia, Myanmar, Japan, Ukraine, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Thailand.
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The Ministry of Home Affairs under its latest guidelines for Unlock 2.0 stated that the international air travel of passengers is permitted. But in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening-up of international air travel will also take place in a calibrated manner. Earlier, the Aviation Ministry stated “Any suggestion that international air traffic has opened up and we are the only ones not to open up needs a reality check. The exact time when we will resume international flights depends on other countries to be open to receive flights.” Until you can fly again, here are some weird virtual tours that you can take from across the world.