Indian and Chinese officials are in talks over the issue of allowing Indians to return to China, the Chinese foreign ministry has said without much details on when special flights between the two countries are likely to resume. The Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights operating between India and China were particularly suspended in the first week of November after 23 Covid-19 positive cases including 19 asymptomatic ones were detected on a flight from New Delhi to the city of Wuhan in central China.
Four more VBM flights has been suspended by the China’s civil aviation ministry which were scheduled to land in different Chinese cities in the following weeks; more than 1,500 Indians had registered for the scheduled VBM flights. In a brief emailed statement to a news agency from Mandarin, the ministry said China had to take necessary anti-epidemic measures after the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak hit countries across the world. “China and India are maintaining effective communication on personnel exchanges under the premise of strict epidemic prevention and control,” the foreign ministry statement to the news agency said.
Indian embassy in Beijing on December 3 has informed that resumption of special flights depends on China. “The movement of persons in India desiring to return to work abroad, including to China, has been similarly facilitated in recent months,” the embassy said. “However, as a result of the restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on November 05, 2020 (“Notice on Temporary Suspension of Certain Valid Chinese Visas”), the operation of VBM flights to and from China has been affected,” it added. Embassy said it is in constant touch with chinese side to work out the resumption of flights.
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