Fewer flights, more protection in Phase 3 of repatriation
25 FLIGHTS FROM TODAY UNTIL JUNE 23; ABU DHABI-MUMBAI SERVICE ON JUNE 11
The third phase of India’s repatriation exercise from the UAE under the Vande Bharat Mission will see fewer flights and more protection for passengers.
The revised schedule announced by Air India and Air India Express shows that only 25 flights will repatriate stranded Indians from the UAE from today until June 23. This includes an Abu Dhabi-Mumbai flight on June 11, the first repatriation flight to Maharashtra.
Fourteen flights will depart from Abu Dhabi while the rest will leave from Dubai. A DubaiChennai flight left yesterday, concluding the second phase.
In line with the directives of India’s Supreme Court, airlines are now required to provide face shields to all passengers on repatriation flights while those occupying the middle seats will be given protective wraparound gowns.
“We have already started distributing them to passengers,” P.G. Prageesh, chief of Corporate Communications, Air India Express, told Gulf News over the phone from India. He said additional protective gear is being offered as airlines are not leaving the middle seats empty.
The option to let passengers use the middle seats will also help prevent a hike in ticket fares, Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul told Gulf News.
He attributed fewer flights
to the approval given to more charter flights from the UAE. “We are hoping that we will have several charter flights operating in this phase,” he said.