Guwahati: The number of flights and seats between India and Ukraine has been increased by the Indian government. This is in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which has seen thousands of Indians flee the eastern European country.
According to a representative for the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), limits imposed under a bilateral air bubble agreement between the two countries have been lifted.
“There can be any number of flights, including charter flights (between India and Ukraine). Due to increased demand, Indian airlines have been told to boost flight capacity “According to the spokeswoman.
“In cooperation with MEA (Ministry of External Affairs), MoCA is enabling (this),” he added.
Despite the fact that planned foreign flights have been banned in India, international flights continue to operate via bilateral air bubble agreements.
India has such agreements with 35 nations at the moment, including Ukraine.
Surprisingly, none of India’s carriers fly between the two countries. Ukraine International Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, operates a weekly one-stop trip between Kyiv and New Delhi via Ras Al Khaimah.
Between Ukraine and India, airlines such as Fly Dubai, Air France, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and KLM provide one-stop and two-stop flights.
Tensions in Ukraine remain high as Russia mobilises its armed forces along the Ukrainian border. Despite Moscow’s claims that it has no plans to invade Ukraine, the US claims that Russia might initiate military attacks at any time.
As a result of the tensions and uncertainty, many immigrants, including Indians, have fled Ukraine, fearing an invasion.
As a result of the mass migration from Ukraine, tickets have skyrocketed as people line up to fly out of the country.
One-way tickets between Kyiv and New Delhi cost between 36,000 and 80,000 UAH per person.
Most Indian airline spokespeople declined to say whether they would operate charter or rescue flights to Ukraine.
However, a top official of an Indian carrier indicated that if the government orders it, his airline will organise charter flights to rescue Indians stranded in Ukraine.
“The situation is somewhat tense at the moment. Indians are fleeing Ukraine in droves to avoid becoming engulfed in the crisis “‘I’d like to remain anonymous,’ the source said.