Kochi/New Delhi: Airports were geared up to receive Indian nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown with Air India’s repatriation flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi on Thursday set to kickstart the country’s biggest evacuation exercise by air and sea.
The AI''s non-scheduled commercial flight with around 200 passengers on board is expected to land at the Kochi International airport in Kerala at 9.45 pm, as logistical arrangements and strict health protocols were put in place at several airports including in Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi and Mumbai.
Jishnu, a passenger from Abu Dhabi who was among those in the first lot to fly out of the United Arab Emirates(UAE), was elated that he would be able to return to his home state.
"I am very happy to have got the ticket. I was informed yesterday that I could travel", he told a television channel on Wednesday.
From the Gulf countries to Malaysia and the UK to the US, the multi-agency operation christened ''Vande Bharat Mission'' will see the state-owned AI operate 64 flights till May 13 in the first phase to ferry around 15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries.
Private Indian airlines may join the repatriation effort after May 13.
As many as 10 flights are planned to be operated on the first day from various destinations abroad. Besides Kochi, the other cities where the flights are scheduled to land on Thursday are Kozhikode(Kerala), Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Srinagar. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the flights.
The Cochin International Airport and Cochin Port have made all arrangements to receive the returning expatriates, Ernakulam District administration said.
Thermal scanners have been erected at the airport for the screening of the passengers and for quarantine facilities, while 4,000 houses with water, electricity and bath attached facilities have been arranged in Ernakulam district.
06/05/20 PTI/Outlook
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The AI''s non-scheduled commercial flight with around 200 passengers on board is expected to land at the Kochi International airport in Kerala at 9.45 pm, as logistical arrangements and strict health protocols were put in place at several airports including in Thiruvananthapuram, Delhi and Mumbai.
Jishnu, a passenger from Abu Dhabi who was among those in the first lot to fly out of the United Arab Emirates(UAE), was elated that he would be able to return to his home state.
"I am very happy to have got the ticket. I was informed yesterday that I could travel", he told a television channel on Wednesday.
From the Gulf countries to Malaysia and the UK to the US, the multi-agency operation christened ''Vande Bharat Mission'' will see the state-owned AI operate 64 flights till May 13 in the first phase to ferry around 15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries.
Private Indian airlines may join the repatriation effort after May 13.
As many as 10 flights are planned to be operated on the first day from various destinations abroad. Besides Kochi, the other cities where the flights are scheduled to land on Thursday are Kozhikode(Kerala), Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Srinagar. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the flights.
The Cochin International Airport and Cochin Port have made all arrangements to receive the returning expatriates, Ernakulam District administration said.
Thermal scanners have been erected at the airport for the screening of the passengers and for quarantine facilities, while 4,000 houses with water, electricity and bath attached facilities have been arranged in Ernakulam district.
06/05/20 PTI/Outlook
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