Dozens of passengers booked on Australia’s first repatriation flight from India will reportedly not be able to take it after testing positive for Covid or being close contacts of cases. The flight was supposed to bring 150 Australian citizens home following a backlash over a three-week ban on anyone entering from Covid-hit India. But local media reports suggest the plane may now take off half empty. Australia’s strict rules mean the seats cannot be given to others in the queue. There are 9,500 Australians stranded in India at the moment, including 950 people registered as vulnerable and 173 unaccompanied minors.

The tough measures were introduced due to the escalating Covid crisis in India. The country’s healthcare system has been engulfed as infection rates soared in recent weeks. Many people have died without getting treatment as hospital beds and medical oxygen ran out. The plane – leaving Delhi on Friday evening and due to arrive in Darwin on Saturday – was the first of six scheduled flights due to bring back the vulnerable citizens.(BBC)…[+]