Sunday, July 26, 2020

400 Indians fly home on US charity charters

Mumbai: Among the expats returning to India due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of flying back home is probably the highest for those from the US and Canada. The average fare on a repatriation flight is Rs 1 lakh. But about 400 Indians have been brought back home on two charter flights from the US, paid for with donations . The second, a Newark-Delhi flight, landed on Thursday night while the first was operated on July 4 between Chicago and Mumbai.

“We wet-leased a United Airlines aircraft to repatriate more than 150 Indian citizens stranded in the US,” said Victor Abraham, chairman and CEO of the Dallas-based Skypass Group, which chartered the flights. The first charter, was operated with an aircraft wet-leased from Etihad.

“Priority was given to seniors and families with young children who needed to return to India for urgent medical treatment or death emergencies and to those with expired US visas. Other Indian citizens eligible to travel, based on Indian embassy rules were also on the flight,” he said, adding that the flights were funded by the Skypass Foundation, their non-profit body, and other donors and companies, who wish to remain anonymous.
25/07/20 Times of India
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