Raab: We're working flat out to bring home families stranded in India
Ministers insist they are working "flat out" to bring home Black Country families who remain stranded in India due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Repatriation flights from Indian cities started earlier this month, bringing nearly 5,000 people back to the UK so far, with more flights due this week.
But hundreds of people from the Black Country remain unable to get home, with the majority of them stuck in the northern Punjab region.
West Bromwich East MP Nicola Richards said she had been contacted by around 100 of her constituents who were stuck in India.
Speaking in the UK's virtual Commons via Zoom, she called for an update on the Government's scheme to bring back British nationals.
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Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "I have been working flat out with the Foreign Office and our international network on that."
Mr Raab said more than one million Brits had returned from abroad on commercial flight since the pandemic started, while a £75 million charter arrangement brought in earlier this month had returned more than 10,000 people from 16 different countries.
"I think the scale of that operation is incredible and unprecedented," he added.
Airports
The Foreign Office has chartered 52 repatriation flights, with more flights due from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the coming days.
British Airways is serving 11 airports in India, which has eased its lockdown restrictions this week after a month of draconian measures.
Flights are due to take off from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, while the airline has also extended its operation to serve additional cities including Goa, Amritsar, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
BA is also carrying hundreds of tonnes of essential supplies – including medicines and PPE – to the UK through IAG Cargo.
Alex Cruz, BA chairman and CEO, said: "It is an honour to support the Government’s repatriation efforts and keep a small fleet of aircraft flying to bring stranded Britons back to the UK.
"When families step foot on board our aircraft and tell us how emotional it feels to be coming home, it reminds us why the job we are doing is still so important.
"We are hugely proud of our colleagues who continue to work with such dedication and commitment through this crisis to fly people and essential supplies across the world."
India grounded all of its domestic and international flights during the Covid-19 lockdown, leaving thousands of Brits stuck in hotels and family homes.
