India's Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday announced a packed schedule of 270 repatriation flights out of the United Arab Emirates, starting from Oct. 1 to bring back its citizens who wish to return home. The ministry said its new schedule, which will run until Oct. 25, constitutes the seventh phase of its repatriation mission, known as Vande Bharat. The state-owned budget airline, Air India Express will operate these flights. They may be supplemented later, if needed, by other Indian carriers, it added. These flights will depart from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, bound, in many instances for multiple domestic destinations in India. The seventh phase of the repatriation mission covers a number of new Indian airports. This will mean Indians in the UAE can directly reach their final destination without having to take a connecting flight or transit at other airports. The schedule announced on Monday also includes flights to bring back Indians from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. In Oman, the flights will operate from both Muscat and Salalah airports. From Saudi Arabia, the airports of origin are Dammam and Riyadh. Meanwhile, 269 flights will be operated to the UAE from Indian cities by Air India Express for 24 days from Oct. 1. These flights will take back Indians who live and work in the UAE. — WAM
