New Delhi (NVI): The UK has repatriated more than 16,500 of its citizens stranded in India via 64 special charter flights in the past 38 days, the British High Commission said in a statement today.
The British nationals were picked up from 32 locations, across the length and breadth of India, the High Commission said.
“Almost half of the Brits repatriated globally thus far on UK charter flights have been from India. It has been a large and complex operation with over 500 members of staff in India working around the clock to ensure flights operated smoothly and passengers could reach airports,” it said.
The High Commission office said that it worked hand-in-hand with the Indian government and local authorities to make the repatriation process successful as there was a strict lockdown in place the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.
One British national stranded in a remote village in Manipur had to travel more than 2,700 km for their flight home from New Delhi, it said.
Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India, said: “The last currently scheduled charter flight left for London Heathrow from Amritsar today with over 300 passengers on board. This unprecedented repatriation effort would not have been possible without the excellent support of the Indian Government. Continued cooperation between our nations will be essential in the fight against this pandemic.”
Since the outbreak of coronavirus, the UK Government has helped 1.3 million Britons from around the world return on commercial flights and organised special charter flights from 27 different countries and territories, the High Commission said in its statement.
The BHC further informed that there is no further planned UK Government charter flights but the situation will be kept under review. “These flights were organised for British Nationals. Where possible, seats were also allocated to vulnerable non-British UK residents with Indefinite Leave to Remain and to other foreign nationals,” it added.
