All the 181 passengers, including 15 pregnant women and children,had already reached the Doha airport by 11 am to take the flight as they were directed. (Representational Image/ Twitter/@HCI_London)
As many as 180 Keralites at Doha airport faced disppointment on Sunday morning as the Air Indi Express repatriation flight got cancelled. The flight, which was had left from the Karipu Airport in Kozhikode to airlift the passengers from Doha an bring them to Thuruvananthapuram, had not been given landing permission from the Interior Ministry of Qatar following which it has bee cancelled, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Gopalakrishnan said.
Meanwhile, INS Magar on Sunday arrived at Male coast to bring nearly 200 stranded Indian nationals home from Maldives amid the coronavirus pandemic. At present, the embarkation procedure is underway aboard INS Magar and the ship is expected to reach Kochi on May 12. The ship will evacuate nearly 200 citizens while ensuring all precautions, including social distancing norms, are followed, the Navy stated.
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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.
The government will operate 64 flights between May 7 to 13 to bring home nearly 14,800 Indian nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Air India Express IX 683 Kuala Lumpur-Kochi flight landed in Kochi at 10.17 pm on Sunday with 177 passengers and two infants. (Photos: Air India Express handout)
INS Magar sails for Koch from Male. The evacuated people include 202 Indian nationals on board. This is the second repatriation mission by Navy.and is carrying 176 males, rest are women and children. The ship includes two pregnant women as well.
For 180 odd Keralites wh reached Doha airport on Sunday morning eager to return home i turned out to be a disappointing day with the Air Indi Express repatriation flight being cancelled and rescheduled a permission for landing in the Qatar capital was not given. The flight, which was to have left from the Karipu Airport in Kozhikode to airlift the passengers from Doha an bring them here,had not been given landing permission fro the Interior Ministry of Qatar following which it has bee cancelled, Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Gopalakrishnan said.
"It has been re-scheduled for Tuesday. We are in regula contact with the Indian embassy," he told reporters here. All the 181 passengers, including 15 pregnant women an children,had already reached the Doha airport by 11 am t take the flight as they were directed. Accordingto a Revathy, a passenger, who was booked o the cancelled flight, said it was disappointing that after th long wait they could not take the flight. Only after relatives of some passengers from Keral called them and enquired, Doha airport officials told the that the flight had been cancelled,she told a televisio channel. India has started the repatriation of its citizen stranded in various countries, especially expatriates fro Kerala in Gulf nations, since Friday and around 1,500 peopl have already arrived in the state by air and sea route.
In anticipation of the arrival of the flight, the airpor and district authoritieshere conducted thirdmock drill o Sunday morningand completed all preparations to receive th passengers from Qatar, returning home after being strande there due to the coronavirus lockdown. The collector said they had not received details, as o now, on why the landing permissionhad not been received. The flight was to have left from Kozhikode airport aroun 1.30 pm to Doha and reach the state capital at 10.45 pm. (PTI)
In line with its role as a key player and first responder in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), India on Sunday dispatched Navy's amphibious vessel INS Kesari on a COVID aid mission to various Indian Ocean countries with medical, food items and medical assistance teams. The effort is names Mission Sagar. The effort which has been named Mission Sagar line with India’s role as the not only the key player but also a first responder in the region. Ministry of Defence officials said the mission has been undertaken responding to the requests from these countries for assistance in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
INS Kesari is primarily an amphibious warfare ship of Shardul-class ships of the Indian Navy and has been used in versatile roles in the past including search and relief operations. The Ship would enter the Port of Male in Republic of Maldives, where it will deliver 600 tons of food provisions. It will also deliver COVID related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles. The Medical aid teams will operate in Mauritius and Comoros to assist the their governments in the fight against COVID and also Dengue Fever in Comoros.
A press statement from Ministry of Defence said that Mission Sagar 'is in consonance with the Prime Minister's vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region SAGAR and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighbouring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.' The statement added, 'The operation is being progressed in close coordination with the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.'
Operation Samudra Setu — INS Magar will set sail from Male with 200 returnees today and is expected to reach Kochi on May 12.
INS Magar, the second ship of the Indian Navy’s Operation Samudra Setu, to evacuate stranded Indian Nationals from Maldives and ensure smooth and safe passage back to India, arrived at Male Port Sunday.
The ship will evacuate about 200 citizens while ensuring all precautions related to COVID-19 including social distancing norms are followed. An entirely separate section of the ship with essential facilities like food and washrooms has been prepared to accommodate the evacuees and a separate mess has been allotted for ladies, infants and senior citizens. Additional precautions have been taken by dividing the evacuees into groups to avoid crowding at common areas like dining hall, bathrooms etc.
Concurrently, the first ship carrying evacuees from Maldives, INS Jalashwa reached Kochi harbour this morning with 698 Indian citizens.
Indians stranded in Tashkent are also boarding special flights to return home.
Meanwhile, five pilots of Air India tested positive for coronavirus, airline sources told news agency PTI. Air India, which is operating flights to evacuate Indians stranded in foreign countries, have asked its pilots to undertake coronavirus test before they operate such flights, the sources said. "Five Air India pilots have tested positive for coronavirus. These pilots were tested one after one. We suspect it could be a case of faulty testing kit as well," one of the sources told the news agency.
Some of the Indian nationals stranded in the US due to COVID-19 related international travel restrictions will fly back home on Sunday on a non-scheduled commercial flight from New Jersey to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, even as authorities said another five flights have been arranged to repatriate others still stuck in the country.
Beginning May 9, Air India has scheduled seven non-scheduled commercial flights from the US to India facilitating the return of Indian nationals, who could not travel due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Indian Embassy in Washington had said in its advisory on Wednesday night. The first flight took off from San Francisco on Saturday to Mumbai and Hyderabad.
The Air India flight from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey will fly on Sunday, taking back Indian nationals to Mumbai and Ahmedabad under India's biggest ever repatriation exercise named ‘Vande Bharat Mission'. Another flight from Newark will fly on May 14 to Delhi and Hyderabad. All passengers will be required to undergo medical screening before boarding the flight and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel. (PTI)
The first batch of Indians from the US will also leave for Mumbai and Hyderabad today.
A flight from London departed for Bengaluru earlier this morning.
Another flight from Kuala Lumpur is also scheduled to take off for Kochi today.
Several Indians, who are stranded in Kuwait, are also ready to board the flight to Chennai.
Passengers who arrived from Maldives proceed for screening at Kochi port on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Air India crew members, who reside in Noida and are involved in flight operations to evacuate Indian citizens stuck abroad due to lockdown, can return home from Delhi only after their Covid-19 test results are found negative, officials said on Saturday. The Gautam Buddh Nagar police had requested the management of the national carrier to accommodate its crew members that reside in Noida and Greater Noida in Delhi for the duration of the Centre's 'Vande Bharat Mission'. The request was made because Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh falls in the 'Red Zone' and the to and fro movement of the flight crew could increase the risk of Covid-19 infection, the officials said.
A spokesperson at the Mumbai airport also said that distinct markings had been laid out throughout the airport to ensure that passengers maintained a minimum distance of two metres. “The airport has set up 30 immigration counters for undertaking the necessary procedures and ensuring quickest clearance of the arriving passengers,” the spokesperson said. Upon arrival, the passengers will also be required to download the central government’s Arogya Setu app before proceeding to quarantine. A small number of Forex and Sim card outlets have been made operational at the airport for this purpose.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare dictate that the arriving passengers wear gloves and face masks throughout their journey. At the airport, two dedicated aerobridges have been identified for these flights, while the Airport Hospital Organisation has set up infrastructure to screen passengers before they proceed towards immigration. Passengers displaying symptoms of Covid-19 will be isolated and shifted to a separate area earmarked for the purpose, the spokesperson said, adding that airport ambulances were placed on standby to shift such passengers to designated isolation centres.
At least 241 Indian citizens are also scheduled to arrive at the Mumbi airport from Manila, Philippines, at 11 pm.
Here is a look at the arrangements at the Kochi airport to deal with passengers who have arrived from Malaysia.
INS Jalashwa, carrying as many as 700 Indian nationals from the Maldives as part of the Operation Samudra Setu of the Indian Navy, arrived at the Kochi Port on Sunday.
Nearly 700 Indian nationals, who were stranded in the Maldives and are now onboard INS Jalashwa as part of the Operation Samudra Setu of the Indian Navy, are set to arrive at Kochi harbour. (Express photo/Nitin RK)
Another flight from Singapore to Mumbai is scheduled to land later today.
A standard operating procedure was also issued for those who arrived in Mumbai this morning.
The first batch of 572 Indian nationals, who were stranded in the United Kingdom, landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai early on Sunday morning. The passengers were thermally screened before being sent for quarantine to 88 hotels across the city. A spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Limited said several more flights will repatriate as many as 2,350 nationals from the UK, US, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Philippines over the next week beginning Sunday. In addition, six transit flights will also pass through Mumbai.
Stuck in the UAE without a job for the past 44 days, Harjinder Singh Gill (35) initially welcomed the news of the Union government deciding deploy 26 special flights to bring back stranded Indians from the Gulf region. Soon, however, his hopes were dashed.
“I was happy that the government had started evacuation of those who wanted to return home. But all my happiness vanished as at least Rs 25,000 is needed for a ticket,” said Harjinder over phone, adding that he has no money left with him. The 35-year-old from Gagewal village in Barnala had arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, in January to work as a truck driver. He had worked for one month when his company shut down on March 25 due to the pandemic. His days since then have been spent sitting idle in a room provided by his company that he shares with nine other youths from Punjab. Read more
Passengers reached from Sharjah at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow on Saturday night. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)
Air India flight with 177 Indian nationals from Malaysia's Kuala Lampur have reached Trichy in Tamil Nadu.
People arrive at Hyderabad airport from a Air India AI-988 rescue flight from Kuwait. The flight brought back a total of 163 Indian nationals. (Source: PRO/Hyderabad airport)
An Air India Express flight brings back 177 passengers and 4 infants to Kochi from Kuwait.
Another Air India flight has landed in Hyderabad with 163 nationals onboard. The flight from Kuwait took off Saturday afternoon.
An Air India repatriation flight carrying 180 nationals has landed in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, airport director AK Sharma told PTI. The flight took off from UAE's Sharjah.
More than 175 Indians are scheduled to fly back to Kochi from Qatar's Doha today.
More than 175 Indians will fly back to Kerala's Kochi from Qatar's Doha today under the 'Vande Bharat mission'
At least 326 Indian nationals boarded the first flight to Mumbai from London on Saturday. The flight from London’s Heathrow airport is expected to land in Mumbai around 1.30 am (May 10), as part of the government’s Vande Bharat mission to bring back citizens stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Two more flights are expected to arrive in Mumbai from Singapore and Manila with over 500 passengers on Sunday. As per the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) issued by the Maharashtra government which is in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), thermal screening of all passengers will be carried out by the civic body’s health officials.
Ahead of the Eid festival on May 25, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has sought early return of all students of the Union territory stranded in Bangladesh under the 'Vande Bharat Mission' launched to bring back Indians stuck abroad, PTI said. A spokesperson said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam has written to Union Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla over the matter.
The first batch of 168 students of the Valley studying in Bangladesh has been airlifted to Srinagar on Friday. According to the Union Territory administration, 230-240 students are still stranded in the neighbouring country.
"Their early return attains significance in view of the ongoing holy month of Ramzan and the approaching Eid festival on May 25," Subrahmanyam has written to the Foreign Secretary.
About 177 Indian onboard an Air India flight took off from Malaysia's Kuala Lampur for Trich in Tamil Nadu.
Around 129 Indians reached Delhi from Dhaka today as part of government't Vande Bharat Mission. Upon arrival at the IGI aiprort, passengers were screened for symptoms of coronavirus.
(Express photos)
With hundreds of people still stranded in the Gulf countries unable to afford the flight tickets to India as part of the Vande Bharat repatriation efforts, a shopping complex association in Kerala’s Kochi has decided to pool in funds to manage expenses of a chartered flight to bring them home.
The Penta Menaka Owners Welfare Association, which runs the glitzy decades-old shopping complex in the heart of Kochi home to primarily cell phone retail and servicing shops, has been flooded with calls over the past week from expatriates who are stranded in Gulf countries unable to pay for the flight tickets home. Currently, the Vande Bharat repatriation mission of the Indian government requires those opting to travel to pay for the tickets. To do it’s bit and to encourage others, the owners association of the shopping complex collectively agreed to raise money to charter a flight so that the most vulnerable sections of the expatriates could be brought home without imposing any financial burdens on them.(READ MORE)
Around 250 nationals including - students and tourists - stranded in London have left for India and will be lanading in Mumabi early morning tomorrow, news agency PTI reported. This is UK's first Air India repatriation flight as part the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded overseas due the coronavirus induced lockdown. "Finally going back to India! Although it was at the last moment but I was lucky enough to get the ticket of the first flight to India under Vande Bharat Mission," said a relieved Indian student, who was part of a group of seafarers who came to the UK for an examination.
Passengers stranded in Kuwait are set to fly onboard Air India repatriation flight to Kochi. This is the first evacuation flight from Kuwait.
The Indian Embassy in Muscat has informed that all 177 Indian passengers and four infants have checked in and are ready to fly back. The Air India repatriation flight will land in Kochi. The Embassy, further said three mortal remains are also beinf returned in today's flight.
(ANI photo)
As many as 129 Indians have returned to Delhi from Dhaka.
Institutional quarantine facilities have been arranged by Kerala for the 5,000 people returning from abroad and other red zones of other states, Thiruvanathapuram District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan said. "They will be kept in quarantine for 14 days," ANI quoted him as saying.
(Source: ANI)
Prior to boarding his Dhaka-Delhi flight, a passenger thanked the government, saying, "The evacuation process from Dhaka to Delhi has been quite well-organised by the Indian High Commission. I would like to thank the embassy as well as the Government of India. Looking forward to spending time with my family after a 14-day quarantine in Delhi."
INS Jalashwa with 698 Indians, which embarked from Maldives, will arrive at Cruise Terminal in Kochi on Sunday between 9:30 - 10:00 am. A top police officer told PTI that all arrangements are in place to facilitate safe stay of the repatriated comprising over 400 Keralites and people from other parts of the country in the southern state. Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare said 431 people traveling via ship are from Kerala. 'All these people disembarked from the ship will be sent to Institutional Quarantine facilities for 14 days,' Sakhare, who is also the commissioner of the Kochi City police, told the news agency.
The Air India flight from Dhaka has taken off for Delhi.
Among the passengers who arrived in Chennai this morning was a Tirunelveli-based woman whose husband died in Dubai, news agency PTI reported. The body was also brought in the Air India aircraft. According to the death certificate issued by the Consulate General of India, the 36-year-old man died of "cardiac and breath function failure". Upon arrival at the airport, the woman headed to Sengottai in the southern district in an ambulance carrying her spouse's remains.
National carrier Air India also issued an advisory for students holding F or M USA visa and who wish to travel on repatriation flights under the Mission Vande Bharat.
Indians wait to board the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Trichy at the airport.
The first repatriation flights from Muscat to Kochi will also take off today.
Indians stranded in London will also leave for Mumbai today.
Another flight from Kuala Lumpur will also leave for Trichy today.
As many as 129 Indians, who are stranded in Dhaka, will board a flight to New Delhi today, the embassy in Dhaka announced.
Here are the flights that will take off today to bring Indians standed in Singapore, Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur, Newark and Kuwait.
AI 922 Air India flight from Riyadh landed in Calicut on Friday.
Passengers will be charged Rs 50,000 each for London-Delhi/Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Bangalore flights and Rs 12,000 for Dhaka-Delhi flight. Passengers being repatriated from the US will be charged Rs 1 lakh, while those from Dubai will have to shell out Rs 13,000. The MEA will give travellers two days notice with the schedule (day, place and time of arrival) of the incoming flight on its website.
India will operate 10 flights to the UAE, seven flights each to the US and the UK, five flights to Saudi Arabia, five flights to Singapore and two flights to Qatar to repatriate Indian nationals between May 7 and May 13. During this period, India will also operate seven flights each to Malaysia and Bangladesh, five flights each to Kuwait and Philippines, two flights each to Oman and Bahrain.’
‘Vande Bharat Mission’ will see the operation of 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the Covid-19 lockdown. Once completed, it may turn out to be the largest evacuation operation ever since the 1990 airlift of 1.7 lakh people from Kuwait.
Earlier this week, the Health Ministry had issued 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.