Over 5k people return to India on June 19 under Vande Bharat Mission: Aviation minister

The Vande Bharat Mission, exercise to bring back stranded Indian across the world amid Covid-19 restrictions, began on May 7 and its second phase started on May 16. The third phase, which began on June 11, will continue till June 30.

Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that as many as 5,078 people have returned back to India on Friday under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Medics screen a passenger after an Air India Express flight brought stranded Indian nationals from Abu Dhabi, UAE, as part of the repatriation exercise ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ at the airport in Kochi on May 7, 2020. (PTI File Photo)

“VBM flies high. IndiGo joins AI Express and Air India to fly back Indians. 5,078 people return from Paris, Moscow, Dhaka, Kiev, Auckland, Lagos, London, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, Sydney, Doha, Bishkek, Almaty, Dubai, Phnom Penh and Muscat today (June 19),” Puri tweeted.

The Vande Bharat Mission is the government of India’s initiative to bring back Indian nationals stranded in various parts of the world due to restrictions over air travel to contain Covid-19 spread.

The exercise began on May 7 and its second phase started on May 16. The third phase, which began on June 11, will continue till June 30.