The Air India repatriation flights, which were supposed to take off on Wednesday, have been delayed by a day to the night of Thursday, 7 May.
This is because the Home Ministry’s mandate to the airline was that the pilots and crew of the flights had to go through COVID-19 testing, reported Business Standard.
“Only those crew and staff who have tested negative will be allowed to operate these flights,” the report quoted the Home Ministry as saying. The first flight from Delhi to Singapore will depart on Thursday night, while the flight from Mumbai to London will depart on Friday morning.
Air India Express will be operating flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai from Kochi and Kozhikode respectively. These flights are set to depart on Thursday night. On Wednesday, Air India opened its flight bookings for the special flights to the US, UK, and Singapore, enabling stranded Indians to come back to the country.
On Tuesday, the government announced the first phase of its evacuation exercise that will comprise 64 flights to West Asia, the US, London, and Singapore.
The passengers will have to go through thermal screening upon arrival, and those with visible COVID-19 symptoms will be transferred to a hospital.
(With inputs from Business Standard)
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