Private flights from Middle East to carry only non-COVID passengers from June 20: Kerala govt

All private chartered flights departing to Kerala from Middle East countries shall only carry COVID-19 negative passengers from June 20, state principal secretary Dr K Elangovan said on Saturday.

"From June 20, all private chartered flights departing to Kerala from Middle East countries shall only carry coronavirus negative passengers. Test certificate must be carried by them. It applies to all flights for which consent letters were issued earlier," Elangovan said.

Meanwhile, the third phase of the Vande Bharat mission, the central government's initiative to bring home Indian nationals stranded in various parts of the world due to the coronavirus-induced restrictions over air travel, began on June 11 and will continue till June 30.

This comes as Kerala has reported a total number of 2,322 cases, out of which 1,000 people have cured/discharged/migrated and 19 others have lost their lives.

( With inputs from ANI )