Private airlines may join Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate people stuck abroad

In an interview to Economic Times SpiceJet owner Ajay Singh informed that Indian government has now assigned private airlines for repatriating Indians who stuck in various parts of the world as part of Vande Bhart Mission.

The discussions on fixing the charges are under way and once it is settled private airlines can join hands with Air India in repatriating the Indians.
It is now only national carrier Air India is allowed to operate repatriation flights.

He said that “International skies have not been opened up in the sense there are no scheduled flights happening. But what has been opened up is the private sector participation in the Vande Bharat scheme and also charter flights. That we are now allowed to do is to repatriate Indians stuck in the other parts of the world.”

“This is a welcome step taken by the govt as there are a large number of Indians, who want to come back to the country and that could not have been done by one airline alone. I also think that its important that all private carriers are national carriers as we carry our nationals,” he added.

Further talking about the demand for Vande Bharat flights and what it means for private carriers, he said: “There is no paucity in demand, all these flights completely full. The government put outs list of flights that they want private companies to operate.”

Talking about the pricing, Singh said that “Flying at Vande Bharat price is a breakeven situation for us.” He further said that “Govt has set higher fares for Vande Bharat where passengers can afford.”