Repatriation flights from London to Indian cities set from May 7

Around seven special Air India flights are being scheduled from London Heathrow Airport to Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru starting on Thursday as India begins its evacuation process for Indians stranded in different parts of the world amidst the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indian High Commission in London has been operating an online registration process for Indian nationals wanting to fly back home, with thousands in queue.

According to officials, the more vulnerable cases will be given priority for booking on to these flights, to be paid for by the passengers, who will also have to sign an undertaking to go into a 14-day quarantine on arrival in India.

 

This news will come as a big relief to Indians who find themselves stranded in the UK and have been desperate to return, said Ruchi Ghanashyam, the outgoing Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

There are students who may have completed their courses and others who came to Britain on a short-term basis. There are pregnant ladies as well as cases of medical ailments and bereavements. They have all been separated from their families and will now be looking forward to being reunited with their loved ones, she said.

The Indian government announced plans to facilitate the return of Indians stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner on Monday. For the UK, Air India will start by operating non-scheduled commercial flights from London between Thursday and next Tuesday.

It will kick-start with flights from London Heathrow to Mumbai, followed by flights to Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai and New Delhi.

Due to limited number of these flights, priority will be given to carry people who are in the most vulnerable categories such as elderly people, pregnant women, people facing medical emergencies, people who have bereavements or serious illnesses in their families in India, stranded tourists etc, the Indian mission in London said.

Medical screening of passengers would be done before taking the flight. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel, it said.

Gloves and masks are likely to be provided to all the passengers as social distancing in the seating plan on the aircraft may not be possible. The cost of a ticket on these evacuation flights is yet to be confirmed but will be made by the confirmed passengers to Air India directly.

The mandatory quarantine on landing in India, also at the passenger's own expense, will be either in a hospital or an institutional quarantine set up by the relevant state government.

India had gone into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March.

This is a completely unprecedented situation and each government responded in the best way possible to deal with the challenges. The government in India, given the sheer size of its population, took action at a very early stage and was able to put crucial measures in place based on our very specific situation, said Ghanashyam, whose tenure in the UK comes to a close this month with her retirement.

The Indian High Commission has, meanwhile, been working round the clock to ensure that it can be a place for Indians in the UK to turn to during the lockdown. Our officials tracked each and every kind of problem that hit our helplines, to ensure we are putting in required measures in place with the help of Indian diaspora and community organisations be it access to urgent medication, hot meals or affordable accommodation, she said.