Stranded Russians in the state to fly back home on Wednesday

TNN | Apr 8, 2020, 04:55 IST

Thiruvananthapuram: A flight to evacuate stranded Russians in the state will be operated on Wednesday. The flight service, which was supposed to be operated on Saturday, got cancelled last minute after Russia temporarily suspended flight services.
It will be the second passenger flight to be operated from Trivandrum International Airport after lockdown.
The charted flight arranged by Russian Consulate is operated to evacuate stranded Russians in Kerala.
On March 31, a flight to Germany was operated from Thiruvananthapuram to Frankfurt to evacuate German nationals in the state.
As many as 207 Russian citizens have registered for the travel. The flight service will be operated by Ural Airlines. The flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Ekaterinburg is schedule for departure at 1.35pm. The flight will reach Russia at around 10pm IST.
The tourists are staying at Varkala, Kovalam, Amritapuri Ashram in Kollam, Marari Beach in Kochi and Vakkom will be brought to Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday morning.
Tourism and police department is coordinating with the Russian consulate to arrange travel and accommodation for the tourists.
“The tourists will be brought to Uday Suites, Shanghumugham, where the registration procedure will be completed. Health check-up will also be conducted there before arriving at the airport. The tourists will be brought to the airport in groups. The flight will reach Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday morning,” said Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation and Director of Russian Cultural Centre in Thiruvananthapuram Ratheesh C Nair.
There are around 50 people who expressed interest to stay back. “The airlines received permission to operate the charted flight,” said C V Ravindran, airport director.