Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said some countries are denying the entry of Indian passengers to their territory, even after India has signed an air bubble treaty with 21 countries.
Puri further added that the Indian government is ready to fly passengers to these countries whenever they alleviate their limits.
He said that currently, Indian passengers are denied entry in Saudi Arabia. The country is not permitting airlines to bring passengers from India.
“We are operating international flights under VBM (Vande Bharat Mission) since May 6, 2020. However, some countries, including some in the Gulf region, have still not removed restrictions on the entry of Indian nationals,” Puri said on Twitter.
Puri on October 22 informed that the special flights that are operating between Kerala and Bahrain are charging between Rs 30,000 and Rs 39,000 on average. Only 750 Indian passengers are allowed in Bahrain per week.
Also Read: India adds 21 countries in its Air Bubble System, Tanzania, Netherlands, Rwanda amongst them
The scheduled international flights in India have remained cancelled since March 23 because of the coronavirus lockdown.
Regardless of the situation, under the Vande Bharat Mission special international passenger flights have been running in India since May. Some special flights operated under bilateral air bubble pacts formed between India and other countries since July to bring back stranded Indians.