UK To Send 17 Chartered Flights To Evacuate Citizens Stranded In India Amid Lockdown

New Delhi: UK will send 17 more charter flights next week starting April 20 to take British travellers back home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a statement by the British High Commission in New Delhi, flights from Ahmedabad to London will fly on April 20, 22, 24, and 26 and flights from Amritsar will operate on April 21, 23, 25 and 27.
Flights from Bengaluru via Ahmedabad will fly to London on April 23. Flights will also operate from Delhi to London on April 21, 23, 25 and 27. Flights from Goa to London will operate on April 20, 22 and 24 and a flight will operate on April 26 from Mumbai to London. 

Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India, said in the official release: “There will be 17 more charter flights next week to take British travellers back to the UK – on top of the 21 flights announced previously.”

“We are working round the clock to arrange additional flights from locations where we know large numbers are still stranded and are extremely grateful for the support we are receiving from the Government of India and local authorities,” he said.

As per the official release, the people who are most vulnerable will be prioritised for seats on these flights, which will bring the total number of chartered flights run by the UK government from India to 38.

“Given the number of people who have already registered for a flight, the majority of seats are likely to be allocated to the people who are already on waitlists, having registered via the CTM website,” adds the release.

The people “who have already registered for the flights do not need to take any further action at this stage. If they have secured a seat, they will be contacted directly by CTM with further information about their flight.

Those who wish to register for a flight but haven’t already should visit the India Travel Advice page to do so.”

UK Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said: “We know this is a difficult time for British travellers and there is a great demand for these flights.

This is a huge and logistically-complex operation, and we are working tirelessly with the Indian government and the state authorities to help more British travellers get home.”