Vande Bharat Mission: Air India tickets’ sale opens today

Air India has announced additional flights from Sharjah to various Indian cities under the 5th phase of Vande Bharat Mission. Bookings for the flights, that will operate from August 4 to August 27 will open today from 4 pm (July 28), the airlines confirmed.

“Indian nationals registered with the Indian diplomatic missions can book flights at normal repatriation fares on the Air India website or through authorized UAE travel agents,” read the post by Consulate General of India in Dubai.

Tickets for flights from August 2 to 15 are available to Indian cities such as – Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Amritsar, Gaya, and Ahmedabad.

The Indian flag carrier’s sister concern Air India Express had also opened phase five air tickets for flights from UAE to India on Monday, July 27 at 4 pm.

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 flights to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission and that the ministry was examining the requests.

Air India and domestic private carriers are allowed to operate flights under the program 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.

Recently, the airlines opened bookings for International flights to the United States starting July 22. Under the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, the airline had announced 180 flights.

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”.