UAE-India repatriation flights to begin on Oct. 1

Our Correspondent

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on September 28 a full schedule of 270 repatriation flights out of the UAE. This will commence from October 1 to bring back its citizens who wish to return home in the face of disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The new schedule will run until October 25. This is the seventh phase of the Vande Bharat repatriation mission. National budget airline Air India Express will operate these flights and may be supplemented later, if necessary, by other Indian carriers, the Ministry disclosed.

The flights will depart from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah to multiple destinations in India. A number of new Indian airports have been added this time, which will help many Indians in the UAE to directly reach their final destination without having to take a connecting flight.

There will also be repatriation flights from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In Oman, the flights will operate from both Muscat and Salalah airports. In Saudi Arabia, the airports of origin are Dammam and Riyadh.

In the reverse direction, 269 flights will be operated to the UAE from Indian cities by Air India Express for 24 days from October 1. These flights will take back Indians who live and work in the UAE.