NEW DELHI: The government is ready to fly passengers to countries like Saudi Arabia whenever they remove restrictions on the entry of Indian nationals, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Tuesday.

It said India has been operating international flights under Vande Bharat Mission since May 6 and now has air bubble arrangements with 22 countries.

"Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, have not removed restrictions on the entry of Indian nationals. We are ready to fly passengers to these countries when the restrictions are eased," the ministry said on Twitter.

Under the bilateral air bubble pacts, the airlines of both countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions.

While India resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months, scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the pandemic.

However, Indian airlines have been permitted to operate special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under the air bubble pacts since July.