Air India to operate two Covid evacuation flights each from Newark, Chicago and San Francisco, and one from Washington, DC, between May 9 and 15.
The government of India will fly the first evacuation flight out of the United States, carrying Indian citizens stranded in this country, on May 9. The first flight, a non-commercial Air India flight, will take off from San Francisco at 11 p.m. It will carry passengers to Mumbai and Hyderabad, a press release from the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. said.
Besides San Francisco, Air India noncommercial flights will fly out of three cities, Chicago, Newark and Washington, DC. While the airline will operate two flights out of San Francisco, Chicago and Newark, it will fly one flight from the nation’s capital. (See the flight schedule below.)
Passengers facing extraneous circumstances, or those with compelling cases, such as medical emergencies or expiring visas, students, pregnant women, and the elderly will be given priority on the limited-seat flights, the release said. Seats will be distributed to the remaining passengers via an electronic random selection method.
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Passengers will have to front the costs of travel from the designated airport in the US to the designated airport in India themselves. Air India will handle the processing of refunds or adjustments for any previously booked tickets, if any. The cost of an economy ticket is $1,362. First and business class tickets will cost $5,612 and $2,722 respectively, according to the release.
Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the flight and every passenger will have to undergo medical screening before boarding. Passengers will be medically screened and required to download and register on the Arogya Setu app upon arrival in India.
READ: India to bring stranded citizens home from May 7 (May 4, 2020)
Every passenger will be required to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine process in institutional quarantine facilities once they arrive in the country. After which they’ll be subjected to Covivd testing.
The embassy said all passengers will have to follow U.S. and Indian government protocols and procedures, before, during the journey and on arrival in India.
All passengers will be required to sign an Undertaking (which is available here), which will be collected from them at the airport before boarding the flight.
Air India evacuation flight details:
Date | Flight No. | Origin | Dep.
Time |
Destination | Approximate fare* | ||
First | Business | Economy | |||||
May 09, 2020 | AI 174 | San Francisco (SFO) | 23:00 | Mumbai
and Hyderabad |
$5,612 | $3,722 | $1,362 |
May 10, 2020 | AI 144 | Newark (EWR) | 23:55 | Mumbai
and Ahmedabad |
$5,612 | $3,372 | $1,362 |
May 11, 2020 | AI 126 | Chicago (ORD) | 23:25 | Mumbai
and Chennai |
$5,612 | $3,372 | $1,362 |
May 12, 2020 | AI 104 | Washington D.C (IAD) | 23:15 | Delhi
and Hyderabad |
NA | $3,372 | $1,412 |
May 13, 2020 | AI 174 | San Francisco (SFO) | 23:00 | Delhi
and Bengaluru |
$5,612 | $3,722 | $1,362 |
May 14, 2020 | AI 144 | Newark (EWR) | 23:30 | Delhi
and Hyderabad |
$5,612 | $3,372 | $1,362 |
May 15, 2020 | AI 126 | Chicago (ORD) | 23:25 | Delhi
and Hyderabad |
$5,612 | $3,372 | $1,362 |
*Fares, provided by Air India, are subject to change. Additional fare may be charged for domestic sectors.