India suspends Vande Bharat flights from UK over new COVID-19 strain

New Delhi, Dec 25: Vande Bharat flights from the UK have been temporarily suspended due to the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus there, the MEA said on Thursday.

On the flights to and from UK, Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson said, "Due to emerging COVID-19 situation and the ensuing travel restrictions, there has been a temporary suspension of Vande Bharat flights from the UK."

An estimated 1.8 lakh people have been repatriated under Phase 8 Plus of the Vande Bharat Mission since early December, it added. Under the mission, over 40 lakh people from 27 countries have been repatriated as of December 22.

The Vande Bharat Mission started in early May to repatriate Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.

On December 20, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that a new variant of coronavirus has been found in the UK. He had tweeted, "Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned."