11.23 lakh repatriated from overseas under Vande Bharat Mission: MEA

As many as 11,23,000 Indians stranded abroad have been repatriated by different modes under Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) till August 19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

In a weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that in the ongoing Phase 5 of the Vande Bharat Mission, around 500 international flights and 130 domestic feeders have been operated so far from 22 different countries and reaching 23 airports across India.

"As of 19 August 2020, 11.23 lakh Indians stranded abroad have been repatriated by different modes under VBM. In the ongoing Phase, 5 of VBM around 500 international flights and 130 domestic feeders have been operated so far from 22 different countries and reaching 23 airports across India. Around 375 more international flights are scheduled to be operated by the end of August 2020," Srivastava said.

The spokesperson said that flights have been added for repatriation of stranded Indians from Kuwait, Maldives, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, UK and Canada based on a continuous assessment of demand received from Indian missions there.

On the bilateral air bubbles, arrangements with the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar, and the Maldives are functioning well.

"You would have seen the announcement by Minister of Civil Aviation earlier this week that negotiations on air travel arrangements with 18 more countries viz. Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh, Afghstan, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are ongoing. This will benefit stranded Indians and nationals of these countries," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )