First repatriation flight lands in Australia after India travel ban ends

Australia carried out its first repatriation flight from India after temporarily banning all travel from the Covid-ravaged country last month, the government said, with 80 passengers arriving in Darwin on Saturday from New Delhi.

Passengers had to show two negative Covid-19 tests before boarding the government-backed Qantas flight and were taken upon arrival to a converted mining camp in Howard Springs in the Northern Territory for a two-week quarantine.

The Australian government came under fire for temporarily barring all travel to and from India last month, a policy that drew heavy criticism from lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora.