Biggest evacuation operation begins
As many as 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, returned home on Thursday in the first two flights from the UAE to Kerala as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the first Air India Express flight ( IX 452) took off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi at 4.15 pm while the second flight (IX 344 ) took off from Dubai to Kozhikode at 5.10 pm. The first flight with 177 Indians ( including 16 children, 4 infants) landed at Kochi airport at 9.45 pm, while the second flight with 182 on board (including, 13 children, 5 infants) landed after 10 pm.
Both the 189 seater Boeing 737s of Air India Express took off from Kerala with two pilots and four cabin crew members on board each aircraft on Thursday morning. The Air India will operate 23 repatriation flights in the first week of Vande Bharat Mission.
The planes will keep last two rows of each aircraft vacant for any passenger showing coronavirus symptoms
The Indian missions in the UAE finalised the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they submitted while registering their names. “CGI Dubai wishes them a safe flight...@ indiandiplomacy@meaindia Elderly Indian couple from UAE on repatriation flight happy to spend Ramadan in Kerala,” Consulate General of India, Dubai tweeted. Officials said that passengers have been given mask and sanitisers when they boarded.
Air India has opened bookings for eligible foreign nationals and valid visa holders of the UK, the USA and Singapore for outbound repatriation flights that will be operated between May 7 and May 14, officials said. Air India 380 flight from Delhi to Singapore will take off late night on Thursday. Seven flight including three from Delhi, two from Mumbai, one each from Srinagar and Calicut will take off on Friday to bring Indian stranded in Dhaka, London, Riyadh, San Fransisco, Delhi and Mumbai.
The statement released by Air India said that all those, who wish to travel from India to London, Singapore and select destinations in the USA on Air India flights operating between May 8 and May 14, can start booking. It further read, “Passengers are requested to read the eligibility criteria carefully as available on the link and proceed further for booking only if they meet the same.”
Foreign nationals or valid visa holders will be charged the same fare as Indian nationals who want a seat on the inbound repatriation flights, they said.
Of the 64 flights, 15 would be to Kerala, 11 each to Delhi and Tamil Nadu, seven each to Maharashtra and Telangana, and the rest to Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Indian Navy has sent two ships, INS Jalashwa and INS Magar, to evacuate 1,000 Indians stranded in the south Asian island of Maldives. The Navy said INS Jalashwa reached the shores of the Maldives, and phase one of the evacuation called “Samudra Setu” will commence on May 8.
The evacuated persons will reach Kochi and then handed over to agencies of various States, said the navy. The navy said the “Samudra Setu” operation is being carried out with the cooperation of various Central Ministries and State Governments. The Navy sent another ship, INS Shardul, to the United Arab Emirates. The navy said all people will be given basic amenities and medical care during the voyage. “A total of 1,000 persons are planned to be evacuated during the phase one. All Covid-19 protocols will be in place during the voyage,” said a Navy spokesperson.
