Vande Bharat: Air India to operate 36 India-US flights from July 11-19

National carrier Air India will operate 36 flights between India and the US under the Vande Bharat mission from July 11 to July 19.

In a tweet, the airline said: "Tickets may be booked through Air India website only effective 2000 hours (IST) on 6th July 2020, equivalent to New York (EDT 1030 hrs of 6th July 2020), Chicago (CDT 0930 hrs of 6th July 2020) & San Francisco (PDT 0730 hrs of 6th July 2020).”

In June the US Department of Transportation (DoT) had said that it would restrict charter flights from India, accusing New Delhi of engaging in "discriminatory and restrictive practices".

Following the announcement, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that it has received requests from several countries, including the US, France, and Germany for allowing their air carriers to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission and that the Ministry is examining the requests.

Air India and domestic private carriers are allowed to operate flights under the program which has pre-fixed ticket charges.

The fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission began on July 3 to bring back Indian stranded abroad amid the pandemic..