149 Flights To Bring Back Indians From 31 Countries From May 16-22: Sources

Vande Bharat Mission: In the 1st phase, nearly 1.8 million Indians were repatriated.

The second phase of Vande Bharat Mission -- meant to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad due to the worldwide lockdown induced by the coronavirus -- will be held between May 16 and May 22.  Sources said 149 flights, including feeder flights, will be deployed to bring back people from 31 countries.

This time, the government is expected to operate 13 flights to the US, 9 to the UK, 10 to Canada, 11 to the United Arab Emirates, 9 to Saudi Arabia, six to Russia and seven to Australia, There will also be flights to France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and several nations of southeast Asia and other Gulf nations.

Among the neighbouring countries, there will be one flight to Bangladesh and one to Nepal.

The government had announced the two-phase mission earlier this month.

The first round of repatriations was expected to bring back around 2 lakh people by the middle of May. By mid-June, around 3.5-4 lakh would be brought back, the government had said.

The five-day first phase of the drive -- which started last week -- brought back people from the US and the UK, southeast Asia and the Gulf.

The government had used commercial jets, military aircraft and warships in the biggest-ever repatriation mission since the Gulf war.

On the first day of evacuation on May 7, ten flights were operated to bring back 2,300 Indians.

Over the next few days, 10 flights to the UAE, seven each to the US and UK, five flights to Saudi Arabia, five flights to Singapore and two flights to Qatar were operated.