Many students are missing out on their studies in the universities abroad. The Indian Ministry held talks with the government officials abroad to ease the restrictions for the students so that they can fly back to their respective universities and carry on with their studies.

Estimating the surge in the number of bookings in the coming days, Air India has doubled the number of flights to US.  From 7th August, the flight numbers per week will increase to 21 as compared to the existing 10. Flights to New York, Newark, Chicago and San Francisco will be increased.

Air India also announced that additional flights will run between the two countries on August 6, 13, 20 and 27. Apart from Air India, American airline companies Delta and United Airlines are also running a limited number of flights between India and the US.

An Air India official said that due to the limit on the number of flights, the airline was rescheduling the tickets of many passengers in a staggered manner. The official said that the situation was so dire that few passengers could only get tickets for a date one month after their schedule. However, the official said that with the introduction of new flights, the situation will certainly get better in the month of August. In view of the staggered re-scheduling of flights and other delays, a lot of Indian students are facing problems in attending their US universities. The students are not able to join their universities on time. Despite the US government’s permission for students to arrive in the US 30 days before the scheduled beginning of the fall semester, many students will miss the beginning of the fall semester.

(inputs from FE)