Coronavirus: Nine more Air India Express flights from UAE announced

Tickets will be available for purchase in the Emirates on July 3, from 4pm

Indian nationals queue to check in at the Dubai International Airport. A massive exercise has been launched by the Indian government to bring home hundreds of thousands of Indians amid the coronavirusShow more

Indians in the UAE who have registered for repatriation with the consulate or embassy will be able to purchase Air India Express flight tickets on July 3, as sales go live at 4pm.

Bookings to six South Indian cities will be available, including Madurai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Thiruvananthapuram.

There will be nine Air India Express flights operating from July 9 to July 14, the General Consulate of India said on its Twitter account on Friday.

The flights will depart from Sharjah and can be booked online, the airline's booking offices or through authorised travel agents.

About 130,000 Indian citizens have already left the UAE on charter and government-organised repatriation flights since May.

The total number of people who registered to return home with the Indian consulate and embassy has now surpassed 500,000.

This is the fourth phase of the Vande Bharat Mission – India’s largest repatriation operation.