Air India tickets for Vande Bharat Mission flights go on sale

Our Correspondent
DUBAI

Air India Express tickets have been opened for sale from June 28 for those who have registered with Indian missions to fly home through the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights, tweeted the Indian Embassy.
The tickets on direct sale have been made available from 7pm on June 28 for Air India Express (AIE) flights operating from July 3 to July 14 under Phase 4 of VBM. The price of the discounted ticket is not clear yet. “Any Indian national who has registered on the website of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or Consulate General of India in Dubai, fulfils the required entry conditions, and desires to be repatriated by the Vande Bharat Mission flights from the UAE to India (tentative schedule attached), can get their tickets issued on a first come first served basis,” said the tweet.
These are available at www.airindiaexpress.in www.airindiaexpress.in, the Air India Express booking offices in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Ajman (managed by their general sales agent, Arabian Travel Agency) and authorised AIE ticketing agents in the UAE.
Phase 4 of VBM is expected to operate 59 flights from the UAE.
Gulf News reported that the Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor said the missions would allow the airline to reserve 75 per cent of seats for sale and 25 per cent for emergency travellers who will be routed through the missions. He clarified that the direct booking service is open only for repatriation from the UAE to India, and not for UAE residents stranded in India and wanting to return. Price of the tickets on sale will be the same as that sold through missions; the advantage is that it will allow people to choose their dates of travel.
Meanwhile, the consulate in Dubai tweeted that chartered flights for repatriation will also continue.