Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday announced
dovetailing of the Phase-4 of government’s Vande Bharat Mission into phase-5,
starting August 1. Puri also said that over 814,000 stranded Indians have
returned back through various means under the mission since May 6, 2020, of which
more than 270,000 returned on flights from 53 countries.

He further said that, among other
destinations, Phase-5 will connect India with USA, Canada, Qatar, Oman, UAE,
Singapore, UK, Frankfurt, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, New Zealand, Philippines
and many more countries.

“Like we did earlier, more destinations and flights will be
added as this phase progresses,” he said.

He added saying that the details about the booking of the
flights will be shared by the @airindiain
and @FlyWithIX accounts.

“It is our earnest effort to reach out to every stranded and
distressed Indian, and facilitate their evacuation and outbound travel. I
request you to kindly exercise patience and bear with us,” he said.

The Vande Bharat Mission was initiated get back Indians stranded in different parts of the world, due to
outbreak of coronavirus. The mission was started
in early May as a repatriation initiative by the civil aviation department.
Helmed by Air India, the mission proved to be a great success especially as no other
international flights were operating during the lockdown period.