Air India to run domestic flights from May 19 to June 2 for stranded passengers: Report

As India prepares for a staggered relaxation of lockdown from May 18, Air India is set to start the operations of special domestic flights May 19 and June 2, according to a Times of India report.

The flights are expected to connect major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Jaipur etc. the report said.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

According to the report, senior Air India officials are considering this as part of Air India’s ongoing evacuation operations. This will be the second phase of the operations where domestic passengers can also be included.

In the first phase of the 'Operation Vande Bharat- A homecoming', India started evacuating stranded Indians from abroad by including countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Germany, Spain and Thailand.

Read: First Air India repatriation flight to take off from UK with 250 Indians

Seven Air India routes were organised by the Indian government from London's Heathrow Airport to six Indian cities – Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai and New Delhi.

Around 250 Indian students and tourists stranded in the UK due to the coronavirus lockdown for nearly two months are preparing boarded the first repatriation flight from London to Mumbai on May 8.

The resumption of Air India’s domestic flight services is on the lines of the train services being started by the Indian railways.