Passengers deboard from Air India Express flight IX 474 from Bahrain at Kochi airport on Friday. (Souce: PRO/Govt of Kerala)
An Air India flight carrying Indians from UAE landed at Chennai International Airport in the early hours of Saturday. Earlier, air India Express flight IX 474, carrying 182 passengers, including 25 children and five infants, from Bahrain landed at Cochin International Airport on Friday, the second day of the Vande Bharat evacuation mission. This is the fourth rescue flight that has landed in India today. Earlier in the day, Air India flight AI 381 carrying 234 passengers landed in New Delhi from Singapore just before noon, an AI 1242 flight from Dhaka in Bangladesh touched down in Srinagar at 2 pm, and the third flight from Riyadh landed in Kerala’s Kozhikode at around 8.10 pm.
Nearly 700 Indian nationals stranded in the Maldives on Thursday set sail on INS Jalashwa as part of the Operation Samudra Setu of the Indian Navy to rescue citizens amid the coronavirus pandemic. 19 pregnant women and 14 children are among the passengers on the ship.
India’s repatriation exercise began on Thursday, with two flights landing in Kerala. An Air India flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Cochin International Airport at around 10 pm, half an hour before another landed at Kozhikode airport from Dubai. Together, there they brought home over 400 passengers.
Through the Vande Bharat Mission, India will send 64 flights and three Navy ships to repatriate Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return home over the next week.
Indian nationals stranded abroad brought to India in an evacuation process. (Twitter/Hardeep Singh Puri)
A flight from United Arab Emirates' Dubai, with around 180 Indian nationals including three children, arrived at Chennai International Airport today. All passengers were being screened and tested. They would be placed under quarantine.
Air India Express flight IX 474, carrying 152 passengers, 25 children and 5 infants from Bahrain landed at Cochin International Airport on Friday, the second day of the Vande Bharat evacuation mission.
In the cockpit, were Captain V S Manojkumar and Mukul Mathur, First Officer Pauginmuan Khuptong and Jaya Kumaran Thampi along with crew members Shyam K.G, Divyalekshmi, Anoop M and Rottu Thankappan.
Air India Express IX 540 left Dubai for Chennai with 177 passengers on board while previous flight IX 612 left with 179 passengers to Chennai.
INS Jalashwa sets sail from Male, Maldives, bringing back 698 Indian citizens. (Source: Indian Navy PRO)
The Air India flight from Riyadh to Karipur airport in Kerala's Kozhikode district had onboard 153 passengers, including 84 pregnant women and 22 children. According to a PTI report, 10 passengers are from neighbouring states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and took the flight to return to India.Kerala is expecting another flight from Bahrain at 11.30 pm, which will land at Kochi airport.
We're also tracking the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak in this live blog. For all news and updates on the situation in India, don't forget to click the link. India has reported 56,342 cases of coronavirus, including 37,916 active cases, 1,886 deaths and 16,539 persons who have recovered.
Sheoran, 31, successfully steered the Air India Express (AIE) flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi, the first of many repatriation flights India is undertaking to bring home its stranded nationals as part of the Vande Bharat mission. Vishnu Varma speaks to him to find out more about his experience.
The first Air India flight has reached the United States to repatriate Indian nationals stranded in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. Air India flight AI-173 with 80 passengers from India has landed at the San Francisco airport. This is the first Air India flight to land in the US in 48 days, reports ANI.
An Air India flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has landed at the Kozhikode airport with 152 passengers on board. They will undergo medical screening, and will be quarantined at a government centre. This is the third flight to land in India today as part of the government's Vande Bharat mission.
According to a PTI report, the Vande Bharat mission will expand to more countries after May 15. These countries could include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Germany, Spain and Thailand, government sources told the agency. In the second phase, Indian nationals stranded in Asian and European countries could be brought back.
In a press release, IndiGo said it has operated two special flights to help Kenyan citizens reach Mumbai to board a flight to Nairobi. One flight operated on the Delhi-Ahmedabad-Mumbai route, and the other Chennai-Bangalore-Hyderabad-Mumbai. At least 197 stranded Kenyan citizens were helped in the process. The charter was initiated by the Kenya Embassy.
“We are pleased to contribute in the evacuation efforts for Kenyan nationals from across the country to Mumbai, from where they were flown to Nairobi by Kenyan Airways. The Charter was initiated in coordination with the Kenyan consulate and the Indian government, to help the citizens reach the Mumbai airport from various cities including Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad," Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said.
The Health Ministry has issued additional guidelines for facility quarantine / isolation of returnees from abroad, their contacts, and isolation of suspects or confirmed cases in private facilities like hotels, service apartments, lodges etc.
Check in completed at Baharain airport.177 passengers with 5 infants will to fly to Kochi by Air India Express flight IX 474
Passengers have started arriving for third and fourth repatriation flights from Dubai to Chennai leaving today evening as part of the government's evacuation exercise.
The third repatriation flight bringing Indians stranded in Bahrain will leave from the Manama International airport to reach Kochi today.
An Inter-ministerial coordination committee has been formed for implementing SOP for evacuation of stranded people to and from India during the lockdown, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Friday.
Officials check the temperature of Indian nationals at the Riyadh airport. Around 150 passengers, several of whom lost their jobs, are on the Air India flight that will land in Kerala.
Indian nationals board INS Jalashwa in Male, Maldives as part of Operation Samudra Setu. The ship will sail to Kochi in Kerala with at least 732 Indians, including 19 pregnant women and 14 children. The government will for the first time charge Indian nationals who are being evacuated by Indian Navy ships. Earlier evacuation operations by the Navy were not charged to the passengers.
The repatriation flight to Manama in Bahrain took off from Thiruvananthapuram at 1 pm. The IX-474 flight will land in Kochi at 11.30 pm.
A flight is scheduled to land in Kozhikode in Kerala at 8.30 pm. Here are some pictures and videos of passengers getting ready to board the flight at Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Around 150 passengers will be brought back, most of whom are workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and pregnant women. (Photo source: Indian Embassy, Riyadh)
Two flights from Singapore and Dhaka in Bangladesh have landed in New Delhi and Srinagar respectively. Three more flights are scheduled to land tonight; a Dubai-Chennai flight will land at 8.10 pm, a Riyadh-Kozhikode flight at 8.30 pm and a Manama-Kochi flight at 11.30 pm. Stay tuned, as we bring you the latest news.
Indian nationals stranded in Singapore were brought back to India in a special Air India aircraft under the 'Vande Bharat Mission'. They deboarded at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and were accustomed to security checks.
(Photos: Twitter/India in Singapore)
The first batch of Indian nationals who will be brought back from the Maldives under operation Samudra Setu, board INS Jalashwa. The government will for the first time charge Indian nationals who are being evacuated by Indian Navy ships. Earlier evacuation operations by the Navy were not charged to the passengers. The Indian High Commission in Male told the stranded Indians on Thursday that they will have to pay $40 — about Rs 3,028 — as “evacuation services charge” for repatriation by INS Jalashwa on Friday.
The first Air India flight repatriating Indian nationals stranded in Bangladesh takes off from Dhaka. The flight will land in Delhi at around 1:00 pm.
Air India AI381 flight, which is bringing Indian nationals stranded in Singapore, landed in Delhi at around 11:56 am. Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar welcomed the passengers home. "Flight no. AI381 from Singapore has landed in Delhi. Welcome home. Thank @airindiain, @MoCA_GoI, Bureau of Immigration and Delhi Government for cooperation and support. Appreciate the exemplary effort of Team @IndiainSingapor led by HC @JawedAshraf5," he tweeted.
The captain of Air India flight, which repatriated Indian nationals stranded in Dubai to Kochi, welcomed the nationals by saying 'welcome aboard your own airline'. He told the passengers about the ongoing repatriation process that the government has undertook to fly them safely home. He ended his address by saying, 'Our people back to our motherland'. Listen to the video here:
The government will for the first time charge Indian nationals who are being evacuated by Indian Navy ships. Earlier evacuation operations by the Navy were not charged to the passengers. The Indian High Commission in Male told the stranded Indians on Thursday that they will have to pay $40 — about Rs 3,028 — as “evacuation services charge” for repatriation by INS Jalashwa on Friday.
In February-March 2011, during the Arab spring, when an operation to evacuate 16,400 Indians was carried out from Libya, Indian Navy ships INS Jalashwa, INS Mysore and INS Aditya were pressed into service, but no payment was charged from the evacuees. The decision to charge Indians this time flows from the Home Ministry’s guidelines, which said, “The cost of travel, as specified by Civil Aviation Ministry or Department of Military Affairs will be borne by such travellers.” Read more
Here are the first visuals of Indian nationals at the Ferry Terminal in Male, who will be repatriated to India today by the route of international waters. INS Jalashwa, under the Operation Samudra Setu, will repatriate stranded Indians from overseas.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das on Friday interacted with the 168 Indian students who will be repatriated to the country. Watch video here:
Operation Samudra Setu: INS Jalashwa, which will repatriate stranded Indians from overseas, drew close to the Male Port on Friday. The government will for the first time charge Indian nationals who are being evacuated by Indian Navy ships. Earlier evacuation operations by the Navy were not charged to the passengers.
The Indian High Commission in Male told the stranded Indians on Thursday that they will have to pay $40 — about Rs 3,028 — as “evacuation services charge” for repatriation by INS Jalashwa on Friday. The decision to charge Indians this time flows from the Home Ministry’s guidelines, which said, “The cost of travel, as specified by Civil Aviation Ministry or Department of Military Affairs will be borne by such travellers.”
Starting Thursday night (May 7), Kerala’s four international airports will begin to receive the first batch of expatriates stranded abroad as part of the Centre’s Vande Bharat evacuation efforts, billed as the most extensive rescue programme the country has engaged in since the Kuwait war. Over four lakh people, who are residents of the state, have registered themselves on the government website NORKA-ROOTS indicating their willingness to come home due to a variety of reasons. A majority of them are from the GCC countries. Expatriates have also registered their names on a parallel scale with the local embassies.Vishnu Varma explains
India on Thursday launched one of its biggest evacuation exercises, bringing back the first batch of expatriates stranded overseas amid the COVID-19 shutdown. At 10.20 pm, an Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi landed in Kerala’s Kochi international airport with 177 passengers and four children. Minutes later, in North Kerala’s Kozhikode airport, another flight landed from Dubai with 177 passengers and five children.
India had earlier announced that as part of Phase 1 of an evacuation plan titled ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, 64 flights and three Navy ships would be operated to bring home nearly 15,000 Indians stranded overseas.
On Thursday, passengers who landed in Kochi and Kozhikode came home to an unusual welcome. Instead of crowds of relatives thronging the arrivals gate, they were greeted by officials and health workers who stood in PPE gear in the disinfected terminal. The passengers were ushered in batches into a triage area, where they were made to undergo mandatory health screening. Those symptomatic will be shifted to Covid hospitals while the asymptomatic will be moved to institutional quarantine centres for 14 days in their home districts. Read more
Air India AI381 with 234 passengers from Singapore to Delhi provided the passengers with hand sanitizers and masks before boarding the flight. The AI381 flight will bring Indians stranded in Singapore back to their country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Indian High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf on Friday paid tributes to the pilots and crew of the Air India special flight which is flying stranded Indian nationals from Singapore to Delhi. "Tribute to Air India ! As Government launches #VandeBharatMission to bring back stranded Indians from the world including #Singapore ; High Commissioner @JawedAshraf5 conveyed heartfelt gratitude to @airindiain pilots and crew. Imagine serving 8 hours in PPE kits ...!" tweeted the Indian High Commission in Singapore.
A special Air India 'Vande Bharat Mission' flight from Singapore took off with 234 passengers on Friday morning. The flight, AI381 will land in Delhi at 11:35 am.
Security checks are being conducted for the special Dhaka-Delhi flight that will take off from Bangladesh's Dhaka at 11:00 am and will land in Delhi at 1:00 pm. The flight will bring Indian nationals stranded in Bangladesh to the country.
Five special flights will bring the Indians stranded abroad to the country today. The following are the flights that are operational today: