Air India confirms six repatriation flights from London

AIR INDIA will operate six special flights from London Heathrow to Indian cities from Thursday (7) in the initial phase of its repatriation plans for nationals stranded abroad.

Priority will be given to the most vulnerable categories such as pregnant women and elderly people, people facing medical emergencies, people who have bereavements or terminally/seriously illnesses in their most immediate families in India, and stranded tourists, said the Indian High Commission in the UK.

Here’s the schedule of the first batch of flights from London Heathrow:

Mumbai: May 7, 9

Bengaluru: May 8

Ahmedabad: May 10

Chennai: May 11

New Delhi: May 12

The high commission added that Air India will contact passengers directly for booking and payment procedures. The airline will deal separately with refunds for previously booked tickets.

Officials said passengers will be medically screened before boarding the aircraft, and they would be provided gloves and masks.

On arrival in India, the passengers would again be medically screened, and will be made to to register on the government’s Aarogya Setu tracing app. They will also have to mandatorily undergo 14-day institutional quarantining, and subsequently subjected to Covid-19 tests.