As a result of the COVID-19 virus lockdown, all flights into India was suspended in late March. The country has launched one of the world’s largest international repatriation missions which would begin on Thursday 7th of May.
About 64 international planes will be operated and 14 Warships to bring the returnees home from 12 countries; the United States of America, United Kingdom, Iran, Malaysia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Singapore, Kuwait, Qatar, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.
Different fares have been fixed by the government for different routes. The evacuation flight would cost returnees anywhere between 15000 Indian rupees to 1 lakh.
Two Indian Navy ships are already moving to the Maldives and to Dubai. Over 2000 Indians would be evacuated daily over the next week through the flight. In the first phase, Indians would be evacuated from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
In the second phase, Indians will be evacuated from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Bangladesh. 14000 Indians will be brought back in the first phase and 64 aircraft and 3 Indian Navy ships.
Over 20,000 Indians in the United States have already signed up for repatriation. The Indian consulate in Dubai says that it has received over 200,000 applications for repatriation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has put in place a repatriation plan for all returnees. All the returnees will be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days in a government facility and they will be subjected to regular health checks for signs of the COVID 19 virus symptoms.
The returnees will have to download the Aaragya Setup app, a mobile application developed by the Indian government to connect the people with essential health services to help fight the COVID-19 virus.
