Australia resumed repatriation flights from India on Friday for its stranded citizens after a 2-week temporary ban due to the Covid crisis in the country.
40 out of the 150 passengers booked on the first such flight from New Delhi tested covid positive. Including their close contacts, a total of about 70 have been grounded and cannot fly out.
Around 10,000 Australian citizens are seeking to return home from India. Almost 1,000 of those are considered vulnerable and have been given priority to board the repatriation flights.
According to the current rules, only those who test negative will board the flights and after landing in Australia, passengers will have to undergo a strict quarantine to make sure they are not carrying the Indian variant of the coronavirus strain.
The Australian government had imposed a temporary ban along with criminal sanctions for people flying to Australia from India. The government said it was to mitigate the risk of potentially highest rates of infection on arrival and ensure that the quarantine system could receive further flights.