Vande Bharat Mission: 58 more flights added to evacuate Indians from Gulf countries

New Delhi: Under Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate Indians from abroad amid COVID-19 pandemic, 58 more flights have been added to bring them back from Gulf countries between now and 30th June, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday (June 10).

He took to social media and tweeted, "58 more flights added to evacuate stranded & distressed Indian citizens from Gulf countries between now & 30th June 2020. Starting immediately, the number of flights from Gulf under phase-3 of Vande Bharat Mission now increased from originally planned 107 to 165." 

58 more flights added to evacuate stranded & distressed Indian citizens from Gulf countries between now & 30th June 2020.

Starting immediately, number of flights from Gulf under phase-3 of Vande Bharat Mission now increased from originally planned 107 to 165. pic.twitter.com/gJ3Wyze3we — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 10, 2020

Earlier, Puri said that India has so far brought back nearly 70,000 people under the Vande Bharat Mission. The ministry will begin the third phase of exercise from June 11 and continue till June 30. 

Notably, 193 Indians reached Kolkata from New York today by a special evacuation flight of Air India. The flight arrived at Kolkata airport on Wednesday morning as part of the `Vande Bharat` mission, aimed at bringing Indian nationals stranded in various countries. 

The third phase of the Vande Bharat Mission started today (June 10) and will last till July 1. The schedule has 356 flights, which include the return services and domestic connections. The second phase had about 180 flights and the first, which ran between May 7 and 15, had 64 flights. 

The first phase brought back about 15,000 Indians home, while the second phase carried nearly 30,000 citizens till May 29. The mission, said to be the largest repatriation exercise in the world, intends to bring back over two lakh Indians stranded across the world since the lockdown was announced in March. 

The government had suspended domestic and international flights as part of the lockdown. Air India announced that bookings for the third phase began on June 5. 

Meanwhile, a Kuwait Airways flight carrying around 45 Indian passengers from Kuwait landed at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport in Indore on Tuesday. 

(With Agency Inputs)