Covid-19: Chartered flights dominate repatriation exercise, shows data

Over 1.7 million persons have arrived in India since mid-May by air, land, and sea routes. While a majority of the arriving passengers were Indian citizens, these also include persons of Indian origin (holding foreign passports) and foreign nationals holding certain categories of visas. 

Around 59 per cent of them came on chartered flights operated by Indian and foreign airlines and another 30 per cent were flown by Air India group. Over 60 per cent of arrivals were from five countries in West Asia. UAE accounted for 30 per cent of all arrivals. Over 87,000 came from the US making it sixth largest source market.

About a quarter of all arrivals were in Kerala followed by Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Starting mid-July, India has formalised air bubbles with 16 countries allowing Indian and foreign airlines to transport passengers in both directions.

The Centre is in discussion with Italy, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other countries for similar arrangements.