Vande Bharat Mission: Air India to operate 70 more flights to US, Canada from June 11

New Delhi: Indian airlines Air India Ltd will operate 70 flights to evacuate Indians stranded in the US and Canada under the third phase of Mission Vande Bharat, between June 11 to June 30, said civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a tweet late on Monday.

Puri wrote, ''More flights being added to Mission Vande Bharat to enable stranded & distressed Indians to return home.@airindiain will operate 70 flights to destinations in USA & Canada under Phase 3 of the Mission from 11-30 June 2020.''

This move comes as the Indian aviation ministry was getting numerous requests to restart international flights. In another tweet, Puri said, ''Numerous citizens have been approaching us to restart international flights. Several factors need to be addressed. Many international destinations are not allowing incoming passenger traffic, except for their own citizens or diplomats.''

The Vande Bharat Mission was started by the Indian government on May 7 to bring stranded Indians home amid the COVID-19 pandemic from foreign land on a payment basis. It also permitted foreign nationals and valid visa holders to book seats on these outbound flights.

Meanwhile, on Monday (June 1, 2020) around 3800 people were brought back to India from Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Bahrain, Salalah, Moscow, Kiev, Madrid, Tokyo, Dhaka, Bishkek, Almaty, Riyadh and Dammam under the Vande Bharat Mission.