Over 7.88 Lakh Brought Back, More To Come: Govt To Launch Fifth Leg Of Vande Bharat Mission On 1 August

Led by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Ministry for Civil Aviation is set to launch the fifth phase of landmark Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians wanting to return back home from nations across the world, reports Livemint.

Having already brought back over 7.88 lakh Indians till 22 July, under the fifth phase which will begin on 1 August, flights will be operated to bring back Indians from USA, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Australia, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand, Philippines and several other countries.

Speaking on the development, Puri said, "Like we did earlier, more destinations and flights will be added as this phase progresses."

The first phase of the Vande Bharat Mission had been launched on 7 May with only Air India operating flights to fly back Indian nationals. in further phases, private airlines were also roped in to ramp up the operations and capacity.

In the fifth phase, repatriation flights will be operated by Air India, Indigo, SpiceJet and GoAir, covering a total of 29 nations and connecting to as many as 34 airport destinations across India.