It is no secret that the stoppage of commercial air travel over the past few months has left a lot of people stranded in India and also left a lot of Indians left stranded abroad. With this in mind, Air India was assigned the task of bringing back Indians from across the globe. Ideally, they are best suited for the mission given their wide-body aircraft portfolio. But Air India has been selling tickets on both legs for many flights, while the costs per seat were arrived at with the assumption that the outward leg would fly empty.

Air India has now announced some more flights to be operated through the second half of July 2020 as a part of their Vande Bharat Mission.

• 2 flights to/from Amsterdam
• 2 flights to/from Frankfurt
• 14 flights to/from London

Flights to/from Germany

Air India will operate the following flights to Frankfurt:

• BOM-FRA on July 21
• DEL-FRA on July 23

Air India will operate the following flights from Frankfurt:

• FRA-BOM-HYD-MAA on July 22
• FRA-DEL-BLR-COK on July 24

Flights for India/Germany and Germany/India will be bookable at 2 PM IST on July 13, 2020 (10:30 CET). However, try a short while before the scheduled time of booking and you have a better shot at booking a ticket.

If you are booking a ticket from India to Germany, remember, all non-essential entry into Germany is prohibited for holders of Schengen Visa and of Visas of Category D (long term). The following are permitted and are exempt from entry restriction:

• Holders of Residence permits (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) and Permanent residence permits (Niederlassungserlaubnis)
• Holders of Family Reunion Visas (Category D)
• Holders of Long term (Category D) visas for employment in Health and Health research sectors, for care of elderly as well as specialists and highly qualified workers whose employment is economically necessary and whose work cannot be postponed or carried out abroad
• Long term (Category D) visas for study purposes as long as the studies cannot be carried out completely from abroad
• Proof of Eligibility has to be presented at immigration point in Germany, e.g., copy of marriage (registration) certificate as well as Passport and Residence Permit of spouse residing in Germany, confirmation issued by employer/university about the mandatory physical presence in Germany
• Transit is permitted to other EU countries where entry is allowed

If you are booking a ticket from Germany to India, you need to be first registered here.

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Flights to/from the Netherlands

Air India will operate the following flights to Amsterdam:

• DEL-AMS on July 25
• BOM-AMS on July 27

Air India will operate the following flights from Amsterdam:

• AMS-DEL-BLR on July 26
• AMS-BOM-MAA on July 28

Flights for India/Netherlands and Netherlands/India will be bookable at 2 PM IST on July 13, 2020 (10:30 CET). However, try a short while before the scheduled time of booking and you have a better shot at booking a ticket.

If you are booking a ticket from India to the Netherlands, remember, foreign Nationals are not permitted in the country at the moment. The following are permitted:

• EU citizens (including UK nationals) and members of their families
• Nationals of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and their family members
• Third-country nationals holding a residence card or a residence permit in accordance with Directive 2003/109/EC (LTR Directive)
• Third-country nationals who derive their right of residence from other European Directives or from the national law of a Member State
• Holders of a long-stay visa, including persons with a temporary residence permit (MVV)
• Other persons with an essential function or need, including personnel working in Health Care, Border workers, Persons employed in the transportation of goods where necessary, Diplomats, Military personnel, Personnel of international and humanitarian organizations
• Persons who have compelling reasons to visit their families
• Transit passengers who wish to travel via the Netherlands to another third country
• Persons in need of international protection (the border procedure applies in full)
• Persons who are admitted for humanitarian reasons

If you are booking a ticket from the Netherlands to India, you need to be first registered here.

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Flights to/from the United Kingdom

Air India will operate the following flights to the United Kingdom:

• BOM-LHR on July 15-22 (daily)
• DEL-LHR on July 19-24 (daily)

Air India will operate the following flights from London:

• LHR-BOM-BLR on July 15
• LHR-BOM-AMD on July 16
• LHR – BOM on July 17-22
• LHR – BOM – MAA on July 18
• LHR – DEL – ATQ on July 24
• LHR – DEL – VGA on July 23
• LHR – CCU on July 22
• LHR – GOI on July 20/21
• LHR – HYD on July 19/22
• LHR – COK on July 19/21

Flights for India/UK and UK/India will be bookable at 2 PM IST on July 13, 2020 (9:30 UTC). However, try a short while before the scheduled time of booking and you have a better shot at booking a ticket.

If you are booking a ticket from India to the UK, remember, Indian nationals are not permitted in the country at the moment without isolation. There will be 14-day isolation. Fill up this form before departure.

If you are looking to out or fly back from India, you should be ready to book your tickets. If Air India’s track record is anything to go by, get yourself a lot of patience to go by, and if you have multiple credit cards, keep them along as well. Air India’s website will get slammed at the opening hour, and things will go wrong before they go right.

All the best!

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