Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi
Amid the rising demand to start international flights, civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri said that the situation around the world is continuously evolving and so are international civil aviation operations, but the Vande Bharat Mission has given “us a perfect template for evacuation of stranded Indians from abroad in global crisis situations”.
Talking about the ambitious Vande Bharat repatriation exercise, Puri said that more than 6.5 lakh Indians stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been evacuated. He went on to add that the government has been making all efforts to facilitate the evacuation of citizens who are stranded abroad and those who want to fly out. He also said that over 80,000 people have also flown out since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“Govt is making all efforts to facilitate the evacuation of our citizens who are stranded abroad & those who want to fly out. We have already brought back more than 650K citizens through various means & have flown out more than 80K. VBM plays a key role in this endeavour,” Puri said in one of his Twitter posts.
“Situation around the world is continuously evolving & so are international civil aviation operations. VBM is being ramped up from time to time. We strive to bring back every Indian or fly out those who want to. I request your understanding & patience. We will cover each one of you,” the Minister added.
Hailing the repatriation exercise, the Minister said: “Vande Bharat has given us a template to evacuate our citizens from around the world in times of global emergencies in a most effective manner. Special flights under the mission continue to bring back Indians & also facilitate their outbound travel smoothly”.
On the issue national carrier Air India has said: “Normal international operations will resume once the restrictions placed by various countries across the world are eased and currently we are operating VBM flights to evacuate our citizens and provide international connectivity”.
