29 Apr 2021

No plans for repatriation flights for New Zealanders in India - Jacinda Ardern

From Morning Report, 7:25 am on 29 April 2021

New Zealanders stuck in India are pleading with the government to help them get home, but there is none coming.

The travel ban on India has lifted but those eligible to return home are finding it impossible to get flights through commercial providers.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report the situation surrounding commercial flights is fluid and the changes to flight schedules have been described as temporary.

"It's not entirely clear when those [commercial flights] will restart because up until only a short time ago those flights were available," she said.

Ardern said at this point there was no plan to charter flights to bring people out, and the government has been very clear about the risks of travelling overseas.

"We cannot always guarantee that we can bring people back and we're very clear about that in all the safe travel information."