The State government has demanded that the Centre restrict the number of flights reaching the State under the Vande Bharat Mission, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan has said.
Mr. Muraleedharan said in a release here on Tuesday that the State government had demanded a restriction since it had to make arrangements to screen the passengers arriving from abroad. If the number of passengers were too high, the State government may not be able to screen all of them. The government in a letter to the Centre had sought a restriction on chartered flights, he said.
The External Affairs Ministry was in talks with the State for increasing the number of flights. More services would be operated only once the government increased the quarantine facilities. The Union Ministry was keen on operating more flights from the Gulf countries to the State, he said.
As many as 160 Keralites died in Gulf countries so far. Repatriation was the collective responsibility of both governments, he said. The State should provide more screening facilities, he said.
