As the Vande Bharat Mission continues, more than 33,000 distressed Indians have arrived in Mumbai in 224 flights till date. Currently, the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) is underway, which began on July 3 and will continue till July 15.
Till date, 33,977 passengers have arrived in Mumbai in 224 flights under the VBM. The number of passengers belonging to Mumbai is 11,881 and the number of passengers from the rest of Maharashtra is 11,623. Meanwhile, a total of 10,473 passengers that arrived in Mumbai under the repatriation are from other states. Till July 15, 2020, another 45 flights are expected to arrive in Mumbai.
So far, passengers who have arrived in Mumbai have been repatriated from various countries, including the UK, USA, Singapore, Philippines, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Kuwait, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Oman, South Africa, Indonesia, Netherlands, Japan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Tanzania, Spain, Ireland, Qatar, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan , Mauritius, Brazil, Thailand, Kenya, Miami, Vietnam, Italy, Sweden, Ethiopia, Rome, Germany, Dubai, Malawi, West Indies, Norway, Cairo, Ukraine, Russia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, East Africa, France, Nairobi, New York, Georgia, and Cameroon.
People intending to book flights to India must register themselves with the consulate. For passengers who could not get a direct flight to their destination states, they can take the flight to Delhi or Mumbai. However, passengers will have to undergo quarantine as per the policy at Delhi and Mumbai before they are allowed to proceed to their home states.
"As per the rules, passengers cannot take a connecting flight to their own states on arrival directly. They can only proceed after completing the mandatory quarantine period at the airport of arrival. They, however, can board a connecting flight on arrival if it is a feeder flight. Also under no circumstances, international passengers will be allowed to mix with domestic passengers before completing mandatory quarantine. Those arriving in Mumbai will have to follow the quarantine rules stipulated by the BMC and the state government, before proceeding to their home states," said a senior BMC official.
Institutional quarantine facilities have been arranged by BMC, wherein they have acquired hotel rooms. This facility is for passengers belonging to Mumbai or those from other states and need to be isolated before being allowed to go to their home states. Passengers from other districts in Maharashtra are being sent to their district headquarters through the district collector, Mumbai Suburbs. Following this, when these passengers reach their respective districts, they are quarantined by their district collector or the local municipal corporation.
