Washington: The US government is arranging airlifts of its citizens stuck in India because of the lockdown, according to a State Department official. The official dealing with consular affairs, Ian Brownlee said on Friday, “We are working directly with both US and foreign carriers to lay on aircraft direct from India to the United States” to bring them back.

He said that the flights could start in about three days, “but it’s the permitting that takes a while both in India and the United States” for the flights.

Last week the State Department issued a “Level 4” travel alert advising its citizens not to travel internationally and asking those abroad to return home. India is under a lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic with all commercial passenger flights cancelled.

Brownlee said that about 1,500 Americans in the New Delhi area, between 600 and 700 in the Mumbai area and 300 to 400 elsewhere had expressed interest in going back home.  He said that a church group has chartered a large aircraft to bring 150 or so Americans from India and the State Department was helping them get the necessary permits for the plane.

He said that an American citizen who had taken ill in Bhutan was brought back to the US about ten days ago and “is doing very well,” he said.