Vande Bharat Mission Phase VIII: Over 763 International Flights Operated From 24 Countries, Says Govt

International Flights Latest News: As the current phase of Vande Bharat Mission is coming to end this month, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said under Phase VIII of Vande Bharat Mission, over 763 international flights from 24 countries were operated. Also Read – International Flights: Air India Announces Flights to Australia For December | Complete Schedule Here

Addressing a press conference, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that these flights landed in 21 airports across India and over 1 lakh 40 thousand passengers returned in this phase. Also Read – International Flights: Amid Ban, Which Countries Indians Can Fly to And How | Explained

Giving further details, he said that a total of 30.9 lakh Indians have been repatriated under the Vande Bharat Mission till date. Also Read – India Summons Pakistani Diplomat Over Ceasefire Violations Along LOC in Jammu and Kashmir

“Phase VIII of Vande Bharat Mission has operated 763 international flights from 24 countries, landing in 21 airports across India. Over 1 lakh 40 thousand passengers returned in this phase. A total of 30.9 lakh Indians have been repatriated under the Vande Bharat Mission till today,” he added.

In the last phase of VBM, India had repatriated 20.55 lakh citizens from various countries. Even though the ban on the international flights continues till November 30, still Indian nationals have been able to fly under the air bubble agreement that was signed with a number of countries.

Earlier this week, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri expressed confidence that air travel would reach pre-COVID levels by the end of the year or early next year.

He said that just before Diwali, the country carried 225,000 passengers and with a scale at which the flight operation is opening up in a calibrated manner, the country has already opened up 70 per cent capacity.