India on Tuesday asserted that it is examing the requests of several countries including the US, France, Germany to allow their airlines to operate repatriation flights.
In a statement, Ministry of Civil Aviation Spokesman Rajeev Jain said, "We have received requests from concerned authorities in several countries including the US, France, Germany among others requesting that their air carriers be allowed to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under Vande Bharat Mission. These requests are being examined."
He added, "We have also had one round of negotiations with the US on 15 June 2020 with representatives of the US Department of Transportation and US Embassy on this issue. They were invited to submit precise proposals in this respect. Communication has now been received on 19 June 2020 detailing these requests."
Jain also confirmed that India is "now looking at the possibility of establishing bilateral arrangements". He said, "As we move from controlled and managed aviation evacuation of our citizens in different parts of the world and foreign nationals from India, we are now looking at the possibility of establishing bilateral arrangements."
"These evacuation flights which were primarily meant for the evacuation of our citizens from all over the world are now increasingly carrying Indians and citizens of other countries outbound to countries where they are normally resident," he added.
He also said, "As we contemplate further opening up in response to demands, we are looking at the prospect of establishing individual bilateral bubbles, India-US, India-France, India-Germany, India-UK. These are all destinations where demand for travel has not diminished. Final decisions pursuant to negotiations are expected to be taken soon."
