Kochi: The rescue mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad amidst the COVID-19 lockdown will commence on Thursday.
The first flight will operate from Dubai to Kerala. The passengers are expected to pay the ticket fare which is approximately, Rs 13,000 per ticket.
The Central government is likely to operate 64 flights from May 7 to 13 to bring home around 14,800 Indian nationals stranded abroad because of the coronavirus lockdown, said senior government officials on Tuesday.
These special flights would be operated by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express to repatriate Indians from 12 countries -- the UAE, the UK, the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, said the officials.
Between May 7 and 13, India is likely to conduct 10 flights to the UAE, seven flights each to the US and the UK, five to Saudi Arabia, five to Singapore and two flights to Qatar.
It is also likely to conduct seven flights each to Malaysia and Bangladesh, five each to Kuwait and Philippines, two each to Oman and Bahrain.
Out of the 64 repatriation flights, 15 would be from Kerala, 11 each would be from Delhi and Tamil Nadu, seven each would be from Maharashtra and Telangana, and remaining flights would be from five other states.
Extensive preparations to ensure the enactment of COVID-19 evacuation protocol and exit social distancing norms are underway at Cochin Airport, CIAL spokesperson said on Monday.
"Three phased disinfestation project is going on. Mock drills for testing different systems were already completed. Apart from the temperature guns to read the temperature of the pax, the process of installing thermal scanners at the arrival area are on. Entire synthetic/textile wrapped furniture were replaced with temporary plastic chairs. The timing of the flights is yet to receive," he added.
Here are the list of services which will operate from Thursday:
Day 1
Abu Dhabi to Kochi - 200 passengers
Dubai to Kozhikode- 200 passengers
Riyadh to Kozhikode -200 passengers
Qatar to Kochi -200 passengers
London to Mumbai- 250 passengers
Singapore- Mumbai -250 passengers
Kuala Lumpur-Delhi- 250 passengers
San Francisco-Mumbai-Hyderabad- 300 passengers
Manila- Ahmedabad- 250 passengers
Dhaka-Sri Nagar-200 passengers
Day 2
Bahrain-Kochi - 200 passengers
Dubai- Chennai (2 services)- 200 passengers each
Kuala Lumpur- Mumbai - 250 passengers
New York- Mumbai-Ahmedabad- 250 passengers
Dhaka- Delhi- 200 passengers
Kuwait- Hyderabad- 200 passengers
Singapore- Ahmedabad- 250 passengers
London- Bengaluru - 250 passengers
Day 3
Kuwait-Kochi- 200 passengers
Muscat-Kochi- 250passengers
Riyadh-Delhi- 200 passengers
Kuala Lumpur-Trichi- 250 passengers
Chicago-Mumbai-Chennai- 300 passengers
Dhaka-Mumbai- 200 passengers
London-Hyderabad- 250 passengers
Sharjah-Lucknow-200 passengers
Day 4
Qatar-Thiruvananthapuram- 200 passengers
Kuala Lumpur - Kochi - 250 passengers
Kuwait-Chennai- 200 passengers
Singapore-Trichi- 250 passengers
London-Mumbai- 250 passengers
Dhaka-Delhi- 200 passengers
Abu Dhabi-Hyderabad- 200 passengers
Washington-Delhi-Hyderabad- 300 passengers
Day 5
Damam-kochi- 200 passengers
Bahrain-Kozhikode- 200 passengers
Kuala Lumpur-Chennai -250 passengers
Manila-Delhi - 250 passengers
London-Ahmedabad- 250 passengers
Dubai-Kochi -200 passengers
Dhaka-Sri Nagar- 200 passengers
San Francisco-Delhi-Bengaluru - 300 passengers
Day 6
Kuala Lumpur-Kochi- 250 passengers
Muscut-Chennai- 200 passengers
London-Chennai- 250 passengers
Jeddah-Delhi- 200 passengers
Kuwait-Ahmedabad- 200 passengers
Dubai-Delhi (2services)- 200 passengers each
Manila-Hyderabad- 250 passengers
Dhaka-Srinagar-200 passengers
Singapore-Bengaluru- 250 passengers
New York-Delhi-Hyderabad- 300 passengers
Day 7
Kuwait-Kozhikode- 200 passengers
Manila-Chennai- 250 passengers
Dhaka- Chennai- 200 passengers
London-Delhi- 250 passengers
Chicago-Delhi-Hyderabad- 300 passengers
Jeddah-Kochi- 200 passengers
Kula Lumpur- Hyderabad- 250 passengers
Dubai-Amritsar- 200 passengers
Naval ships sent to Maldives, UAE
Meanwhile, India has sent three naval ships to evacuate its citizens stranded in the Maldives and UAE due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a defence spokesperson said in the early hours on Tuesday.
INS Jalashwa deployed off Mumbai coast, along with INS Magar, diverted for Maldives on Monday night, he said.
INS Shardul diverted to Dubai to evacuate the expatriates, the spokesperson added.
The three ships will return to Kochi, he said.
INS Magar and INS Shardul are Southern Naval Command ships, while INS Jalashwa is from Eastern Naval Command.
Almost 200 Indians from Maldives are expected to arrive in Kochi on the naval ship by next week. They are expected to complete a quarantine period of 14 days on their arrival. The expats will have to bear the expenses incurred during the quarantine.
4.27 lakh NRKs register
The Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) officials said 4.27 lakh Keralites living in various foreign countries have evinced interest in coming back home till Monday. The list has been handed over to the embassies in different countries.
These numbers are based on the registrations on the NORKA website, which started on April 26. Those who wish to come back from abroad can still apply online at: www.registernorkaroots.org
Apart from this, over 1.5 lakh Keralites living in other Indian states too have registered with the NORKA website.
The centre has stated that it will not bear the cost of the flight tickets for expats returning home.
The registration of Non-Resident Indians(NRIs) wishing to return home have already begun in the Indian embassies of the respective nations. Only asymptomatic individuals will be allowed to return.
The list of expats selected for the return journey will be determined on priority basis by the embassies. Once this list is approved by the state governments, the centre will give the nod for the expats' return.
Evacuation will begin only after the states complete arrangements to accommodate the expatriates, including the 14-day quarantine facilities.