496 Indian nationals repatriated by Air Seychelles as part of the 'Vande Bharat mission'

• 496 Indian nationals repatriated between July and October, 2020.
• 7 flights operated from Seychelles to Ahmedabad, Chennai and Mumbai.

Air Seychelles has today announced that a total of 496 Indian nationals has been repatriated from Seychelles to India between July and October 2020, as part of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.

The successful flights conducted in collaboration with the High Commission of India (HCI) in Seychelles and the Department of Foreign Affairs, were operated to the western and southern parts of India including the cities of Ahmedabad, Chennai and Mumbai, thereby feeding to the rest of the country.

High Commissioner of India His Excellency Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag remarked:

“The aspirations of the stranded Indians have been fulfilled by the timely repatriation carried out so far by the two non-scheduled flights operated by Air India and seven other non-scheduled flights operated by Air Seychelles till date. I convey my gratitude to Air Seychelles for taking this noble initiative despite the COVID-19 restrictions and helping our Indian nationals reach closer to their hometown.”

Remco Althuis, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles added:

“During this unprecedented time, we understand the desire of citizens stranded in Seychelles to go home and the difficulty of operating flights due to the dynamic situation of COVID-19. Air Seychelles is indeed grateful for the support of the High Commission of India and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) over the past three months in ensuring the success of these flights. The airline will continue to work closely with both establishments in the upcoming months to operate additional flights to Ahmedabad and Mumbai on demand, to continue to provide Indian nationals the opportunity to go home.”

Air Seychelles operated the seventh special flight as part of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ on Friday, 2 October, 2020. The flight which departed Seychelles at 10.15pm carried 89 Indian nationals to Ahmedabad.

The Vande Bharat Mission is a Government of India initiative to undertake the largest ever repatriation of Indian nationals stranded in different parts of the world due to COVID19 pandemic. As part of this and also operation ‘Samudra Setu’, which is rescuing stranded Indian nationals by sea, through the assistance provided by the Indian Navy, more than 1.97 Million stranded Indians have already been brought back to India from different parts of the world, through a mix of non-scheduled commercial flights, ships and cross-border bus services.