National carrier Air India will operate 36 flights between India and the US under the Vande Bharat mission from July 11 to July 19.
In a tweet on Sunday, the airline said: “Tickets may be booked through Air India website only effective 2000 hours (IST) on 6th July 2020, equivalent to New York (EDT 1030 hrs of 6th July 2020), Chicago (CDT 0930 hrs of 6th July 2020) & San Francisco (PDT 0730 hrs of 6th July 2020).
In June the US Department of Transportation (DoT) had said that it would restrict charter flights from India, accusing New Delhi of engaging in “discriminatory and restrictive practices”.
#FlyAI : Kind attention please, an important update regarding flights between India and USA under Vande Bharat Mission. pic.twitter.com/O56TqBldvb
— Air India (@airindia) July 5, 2020
Following the announcement, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that it has received requests from several countries, including the US, France and Germany for allowing their air carriers to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission and that the ministry is examining the requests.
Air India and domestic private carriers are allowed to operate flights under the programme which has pre-fixed ticket charges.
The fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission began on July 3 to bring back Indian stranded abroad amid the pandemic.
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