Government of India started Vande Bharat Mission – one of the largest initiatives to repatriate nationals back to India, on 7th May 2020. Under this mission, Ministry of Civil Aviation was coordinating with Ministry of External Affairs and state Governments for bringing Indians back to their homeland.
8503 Indians have been flown back to India in 43 inbound flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission in 6 days beginning from 7th May 2020.
Air India along with its subsidiary Air India Express were operating a total of 64 flights (42 by Air India & 24 by AI Express) to 12 countries viz. USA, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia to repatriate 14,800 Indians back in the first phase.
Each and every function in this massive air evacuation mission strictly followed the safety and hygiene protocol laid down by the Government and DGCA. MoCA, AAI and Air India left no stone unturned to prioritize the safety of passengers, the crew and ground handling staff in these sensitive medical evacuation missions.
Extensive and meticulous safety arrangements were made in accordance to government guidelines.
