UPDATE: Phase III of Air India’s repatriation flights are scheduled to start tomorrow, June 10, 2020. Called the Vande Bharat Mission, this batch will have 300 flights catering to 60,000 Indians from 43 countries. While this currently includes departure from the US, Canada, Paris, London and Frankfurt Air India intends to increase the number of flights depending upon demand.
So far, Phase I and Phase II, combined have brought 66,831 stranded Indians in over 365 flights back to India. The bookings for these flights continue through a registration process on the Indian Embassy website. Details below.
Covid Lockdown: How to Board Flights From USA to India
- Registration: All travelers eligible to fly out to India should register with the closest Indian mission or Indian Embassy.
- Registration Details: Include name, destination and passport details
- Cost Of Flights from USA to India: A 15-hour direct flight to New Delhi or Mumbai is approximately $1,300 for each traveler.
- Medical Screening: All travelers will be screened for Covid-19 symptoms. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board these flights to India.
Are you unable to board these flights to India and your I-94 is expiring?
Here’s step-by-step guide to extend your US Visitor Visa
Who is Eligible to Fly Out of the US During Coronavirus Lockdown
- F1 Student Visa Holders: With all in-person classes suspended and student housing closed, international students who have no other place to stay are eligible to board these planes
- B2 Visitor Visa Holders: Parents and other visitors who got stranded in the US due to the border closings.
- B1 Business Visa Holders: Those who made temporary business visits to the US and have their I-94 expiring.
- Emergency Cases: Indian citizens and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who have an emergency (death in the family, health reasons) and have to travel back to India.
- OCI holders: Including OCI minor children of NRIs and students over the age of 18 whose parents reside in India.
The second batch of Air India flights started evacuations in mid May. These flights were to operate from May 17 to June 13, 2020. The first flight to the US is scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport on May 18, 2020.
This time the airports covered include departure flights from:
- San Francisco – 2 flights
- New York – 2 flights
- Washington – 1 flight and
- Chicago – 2 flights
If you are looking to book a seat on this flight, you have a couple of options –
- Visit the Air India website: www.airindia.in
- Call the following phone numbers for booking a seat in person: 1-888-634-1407
- Speak to a booking agent through their Live chat option who can assist with the flight bookings.
The burden of ensuring eligibility to travel lies with the traveler. Only asymptomatic are passengers will be allowed to board the air plane. For further eligibility requirements, see below.
The Air India repatriation flights from USA to India scheduled to take off on May 7 have been postponed for May 9, 2020. The first batch of flights are scheduled to fly until May 15, 2020.
Air India will operate flights from the US to take Indian nationals stranded in the USA due to the Coronavirus lockdown, back to India. 2,100 Indian citizens in the US are scheduled to return to India over the next week.
The Ministry of External Affairs has rolled out a flight plan for various countries where over 200,000 Indian citizens are stranded due to the Coronavirus lockdown. The first batch of flights are expected to fly every day until May 13, 2020. Additional flights will be arranged according to demand.
Please Note
The following flight schedule is for informational and planning purposes only. You have to personally contact Air India airlines to confirm each departure date and time before you board your flight.
India continues to close its international borders for any other travel besides for these travelers.
Coronavirus Travel Restrictions
Everything you need to know about traveling now
US to India: Flight Details
- The first flight from the USA is scheduled for Hyderabad with a stopover in Mumbai.
- Each Flight is expected to fly a minimum of 200 passengers each day.
- US Airports: Currently the following international airports have been designated for departing Air India flights
- San Francisco International Airports
- Washington Dulles Internation Airport
- New York International Airports (please confirm date and time for different airports within New York)
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- Chicago O’ Hare International Airport
- For passengers in other US states or cities, it is their responsibility to find a way to arrive at these airports. Please confirm if domestic flights are available to these international airports.
- Indian Arrival Airports:
- Mumbai: Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
- New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport
- Domestic travel within India, to their respective hometowns is the passengers’ responsibility.
- The tentative arrangements for travel to the following Indian states have been made
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
- Maharashtra
- Delhi
- Telangana
- Gujarat
- Punjab
- Jammu Kashmir
- Karnataka and
- Uttar Pradesh
Please confirm your entire travel itinerary before boarding your flight from the US.
Are you unable to board these flights to India and your I-94 is expiring?
Here’s step-by-step guide to extend your US Visitor Visa
What to Expect on Arriving in India
- Upon arrival in India, all travelers will have to fill a self-declaration form.
- They also have to sign up on the Arogya Setu app
- A multi-lingual app that gives all incoming travelers information and direction about Covid testing and next steps.
- They will go through another medical screening on arrival.
- Depending upon the results of testing, each traveler will either be quarantined for 14 days or put on arrangements for onward travel. This could be either in a hospital or a State government-designated institution.
- Costs for the 14-day quarantine has to be met by the traveler.
- After the 14-day quarantine, a final medical screening will determine exit from quarantine and departure to home destination.
Stay tuned to Path2USA for further details as updates emerge over the next few days.