Air India Express (AIE) will operate 36 flights in the second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission commencing May 16. Of the 36 flights to be operated from West Asia, Malaysia, and Singapore to various Indian cities, 26 will be to the four airports in Kerala. The second phase of the mission will be till May 23.
Kochi has been given the mandate to operate nine flights, Thiruvananthapuram seven, and Kozhikode and Kannur five each in the flight schedule approved by the Union Ministry of Home and Civil Aviation. The remaining are to Hyderabad, Bengalaru, Mangaluru, and Tiruchirappalli.
From the Gulf
The airline will operate flights from Dubai to Kochi, Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram, and Abu Dhabi to Kozhikode on May 16.
The airline and the crew have started preparations for the second phase of the mission. In addition to the two cockpit crew, there will be four cabin crew as well. The crew will be undergoing tests for novel corona virus at the boarding cities. The crew will be wearing personal protective equipment and the passengers will be provided snacks and drinking water during the flight to be operated using B 737-800.
Air India Express operated 22 flights to repatriate 3,971 Non-Resident Indians in the phase one of the mission.
“The phase one of the mission was smooth with the AIE flying 2,457 men, 1,441 women and 73 infants in 22 flights. The operations were smooth and only one flight had to be cancelled due to denial of landing permission in Doha,” an airline source told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, Air India has opened bookings for the second phase of 149 repatriation flights to bring back Indians stranded in 31 countries. The airline will be operating to more than 30 destinations.
