AUCKLAND (Sachin) - The Government of India has allowed the operation of private charter flights to repatriate the Indians stranded in New Zealand to supplement the efforts of Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded in different countries due to travel restrictions worldwide to contain spread of Covid - 19.
A communique from of High Commission of India, Wellington, said: "In this connection, Capajet, based in Singapore has proposed to organize chartered flight from Christchurch to Mumbai or Chennai and they have started the process of seeking expression of interest through their social media platforms.
"In case they are able to submit a viable proposal to the commission, the same will be forwarded to concerned authorities in India for obtaining necessary approvals. A few other charter companies have also approached the commission in this regard and any viable proposals from them will also be considered," said the communique.
"It is advised that it will be purely a direct arrangement between the private chartered companies and prospective passengers and High Commission of India will not be involved except for facilitating approvals from the Indian government, said the communique.
The communique said, "It may also be noted that in view of Covid - 19 travel restrictions, just like Vande Bharat Mission, only those passengers who meet the 'compelling circumstances' criteria will be permitted to travel on these chartered flights and they will be required to follow all Government of India rules and regulations in force in this regard."