Air India will carry out repatriation of Indian citizens from the US starting May 7 in a phased manner. Non-scheduled Air India flights would be arranged with a cost of Rs 1 lakh for air travel which will be borne by the passenger.
"The cost of the flights is steep only because the number of passengers is limited. Each flight will each take less than 150 passengers, a reduced capacity to allow for extra spacing," a senior government official told .
Officials have drawn up a list of "distressed Indian citizens" including tourists stranded overseas and expat workers who have lost their jobs.
"The flights will be filled up from people on the database. The registration process is still on. People can register on the website," he further said
The first flight will be from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hyderabad on May 7 with 200 passengers on board. On May 8, an Air India flight from New York with 300 passengers on board will come to Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
Later on May 9, passengers from Chicago will land in Mumbai and Chennai. Lastly, on May 10, there may be a flight from Washington DC to Delhi and Hyderabad.
Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had announced that the government will operate at least 64 flights between May 7 and May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indians stranded in other countries, in one of the country's biggest evacuations during the coronavirus outbreak.
He said 64 flights will be operated in the first week of operation to bring stranded Indians from different countries.
Medical screening of passengers would be done before they take the flight and only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel.
During the journey, all these passengers would have to follow the protocols, issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
On reaching the destination, everyone would have to register on the Aarogya Setu app and everyone would be medically screened.
Additionally, passengers will need to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine either in a hospital or in an institutional quarantine on a payment basis on arrival in India as per the protocols framed by the government.
COVID-19 test would be done after 14 days and further action would be taken according to applicable health protocols of the government.
The Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation would soon share detailed information about it through their websites. State Governments are being advised to make arrangements, including for testing, quarantine, and onward movement of the returning Indians in their respective states.
( With inputs from ANI )