Vande Bharat Mission: Five Air India repatriation flights handled by Delhi airport on Sunday

Delhi airport on Sunday handled five Air India repatriation flights under Vande Bharat Mission from cities like London and Riyadh, said officials.

Air India is to conduct a total of 64 flights between May 7 and May 14 under Vande Bharat Mission, which aims to bring back Indians stranded abroad amid the the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

"On Sunday, Air India operated three flights out of Delhi -- one each to London, Chicago and Riyadh. While the Riyadh flight was empty, the flight to London had around 69 passengers. The Delhi-Chicago flight had 329 passengers," the officials stated.

Passengers are being charged for seats on these repatriation flights.

"Under the Vande Bharat mission, there were two flights that arrived in Delhi. While the flight from Riyadh had 138 passengers, the flight from London had 313 passengers," the officials noted.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 62,900 people and killed around 2,100 people in the country till now.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this lockdown period. However, cargo flights, medical evacuation flights and special flights permitted by the aviation regulator DGCA are allowed to operate.