Indian nationals stranded in Bangladesh’s Dhaka to be airlifted today. (Twitter/Hardeep Singh Puri)
The first flight carrying Indian students who are stranded in Bangladesh’s Dhaka will land in Srinagar on Friday. According to the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh, the students were all set to board the Air India flight. Meanwhile, the first flight evacuating Indian nationals stranded abroad landed in Kerala’s Kochi International Airport at 10:20 pm on Thursday from Abu Dhabi, with 177 passengers and four children. The second flight landed in north Kerala’s Kozhikode airport from Dubai, with 177 passengers and five children.
In an earlier announcement, India has said that 64 flights and three Navy ships would be operated to bring home nearly 15,000 Indians stranded overseas. The operation is titled ‘Vande Bharat Mission’. The Indian nationals stranded in Bahrain, UAE, USA, Malaysia, Kuwait, and Singapore will be airlifted on Friday. Meanwhile, the passengers who landed in the two flights were ushered in batches into a triage area, where they were made to undergo mandatory health screening. (Follow coronavirus LIVE updates )
In the mission that started Thursday, nearly 15,000 Indians stranded overseas are expected to return on special Air India flights from 12 countries over a week. 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 and Kashmir, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.
Indian nationals stranded abroad brought to India in an evacuation process. (Twitter/Hardeep Singh Puri)
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
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
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: