India, UAE to operate repatriation flights soon

India and the UAE have agreed to allow their airlines to carry eligible passengers on their charter flights between the two countries to be operated from July 12 to July 26, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Thursday.

An Indian carrier operating a repatriation flight from the United Arab Emirates is not allowed to carry any passenger from India to the Gulf and vice versa.

India suspended all scheduled international passenger flights on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Ministry tweeted, "As part of the close strategic partnership between the governments of India and the UAE, and with a view to assisting UAE resident nationals who are at present in India to return to the UAE, the civil aviation authorities of both countries have agreed to operationalise the following arrangement from 12 July 2020."

Charter flights operated by UAE carriers will now be permitted to bring Indian citizens from the UAE to India and carry 'ICA-approved UAE residents' on their return leg, the ministry said.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said, "Indian carriers operating repatriation flights to bring Indian citizens from UAE to India will be allowed to carry the ICA-approved UAE residents (returning to UAE from India) on the outward journey from India to UAE", the release added.