Vande Bharat mission: 36 flights to be operated between India and US from July 11-19

Air India will operate 36 flights between India and the US under the Vande Bharat mission from July 11 to July 19.

"Tickets may be booked through Air India website only effective 2000 hours (IST) on 6th July 2020, equivalent to New York (EDT 1030 hrs of 6th July 2020), Chicago (CDT 0930 hrs of 6th July 2020) & San Francisco (PDT 0730 hrs of 6th July 2020)," the airline said, in a tweet on Sunday.

The fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission began on July 3 to bring back Indian stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. Air India and domestic private carriers are allowed to operate flights under the programme which has pre-fixed ticket charges.

In June, the US Department of Transportation (DoT) had accused India of engaging in "discriminatory and restrictive practices", and said it would restrict charter flights from India.

The Civil Aviation Ministry then said it had received requests from several countries, including the US, France and Germany for allowing their air carriers to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission and that the ministry is examining the requests.