Lockdown since March 25

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. All commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this period.

The first and second phase of lockdown in India was from March 25 to April 14 and April 15 to May 3, respectively. The third phase began from May 4 and would end on May 17.

Whenever the government resumes commercial passenger flights, it would be done in a graded manner, civil aviation minister Puri said.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 46,400 people and killed around 1,560 people in India till now.

Aarogya Setu app mandatory

Earlier, in a statement issued on Monday, the government said a Standard Operating Protocol has been made. Indian Embassies and High Commissions are preparing a list of distressed Indian citizens.

“The facility would be made available on a payment-basis. Non-scheduled commercial flights would be arranged for air travel. The travel would begin in a phased manner from May 7,' the statement said.

'State governments are being advised to make arrangements, including for testing, quarantine, and onward movement of the returning Indians in their respective states,' the statement said.

Aarogya Setu app has also been made mandatory for the passengers, it added.

Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the Covid-19-induced lockdown, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.

The minister, who addressed a virtual press conference in New Delhi, said those availing of the facility would be charged. He said private airlines of Indian may join the repatriation effort after May 13.

A passenger on a London-Delhi flight will be charged Rs 50,000 and on a Dhaka-Delhi flight Rs 12,000, the minister said.

These 64 flights would be conducted by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express to repatriate Indians from 12 countries, namely, UAE, the UK, the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

On arrival, all passengers will be screened and put under quarantine for a period of 14 days as a Covid-19 precautionary measure, Puri said.

India will conduct 10 flights to the UAE, seven flights each to the US and the UK, five flights to Saudi Arabia, five flights to Singapore and two flights to Qatar, the minister said.

During this time period (May7 to May 13), India will also conduct seven flights each to Malaysia and Bangladesh, five flights each to Kuwait and Philippines, two flights each to Oman and Bahrain.

Sources in the UK said that around seven special Air India flights are being scheduled from London Heathrow Airport to Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru starting on Thursday.

The Indian High Commission in London has been operating an online registration process for Indian nationals wanting to fly back home, with thousands in queue.

According to officials, the more vulnerable cases will be given priority for booking on to these flights. Apart from paying, passengers will also have to sign an undertaking to go into a 14-day quarantine on arrival in India.

This news will come as a big relief to Indians who find themselves stranded in the UK and have been desperate to return, said Ruchi Ghanashyam, the outgoing Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

There are students who may have completed their courses and others who came to Britain on a short-term basis. There are pregnant ladies as well as cases of medical ailments and bereavements. They have all been separated from their families and will now be looking forward to being reunited with their loved ones, she said.

Due to limited number of flights, priority will be given to carry people who are in the most vulnerable categories such as elderly people, pregnant women, people facing medical emergencies, people who have bereavements or serious illnesses in their families in India, stranded tourists etc, the Indian mission in London said.

Medical screening of passengers would be done before taking the flight. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel, it said.

Gloves and masks are likely to be provided to all the passengers as social distancing in the seating plan on the aircraft may not be possible.

The mandatory quarantine on landing in India, also at the passenger's own expense, will be either in a hospital or an institutional quarantine set up by the relevant state government.

The Indian High Commission in London has, meanwhile, been working round the clock to ensure that it can be a place for Indians in the UK to turn to during the lockdown.

“Our officials tracked each and every kind of problem that hit our helplines, to ensure we are putting in required measures in place with the help of Indian diaspora and community organisations be it access to urgent medication, hot meals or affordable accommodation,” Ghanashyam said.

Aarogya Setu app has also been made mandatory for the passengers. Shutterstock