Three Air New Zealand flights will this week depart from India, to bring stranded Kiwis home - Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.
Similar to New Zealand, India has been in Covid-19 lockdown since last month, however those measures have recently been extended to May 3.
With borders closed, a number of New Zealand citizens are stuck in India, unable to get home under current travel restrictions.
As a result, the New Zealand Government has chartered three flights to repatriate Kiwis stranded in India, the first of those leaving New Delhi tomorrow, and arriving into Auckland on April 25, Mr Peters confirmed.
The second flight will depart Mumbai on April 27, arriving home on April 28. Details of the third flight are yet to be confirmed, but is expected to depart New Delhi on April 30.
"The decision to charter flights at huge expense was not taken lightly, but the New Zealand Government is seriously committed to assisting New Zealanders to return home where all other options have been exhausted," Mr Peters said.
"This has been an extraordinarily complex operation."
Mr Peters also added that options are being considered for those outside of New Delhi and Mumbai, particularly in India's south and east who may be unable to make one of the three flights.
Mr Peters saying that 1300 people have registered an interest in one of the three flights, although a large number of those are deemed as "non-eligible" by the Foreign Minister.
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