Coronavirus Lockdown: First Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi to land in Kochi

An Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi is expected to land at Cochin International Airport in Kerala at 9.40 pm on Thursday with nearly 175 passengers onboard, marking the beginning of the Centre’s repatriation exercise, Vande Bharat Mission, to bring home citizens stranded abroad.

The flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi will be followed by another from Dubai landing at Kozhikode at 10.30 pm. It will also have nearly 175 Indians onboard.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla on Wednesday reviewed the arrangements for receiving the returnees and quarantining them.

He had a video-conference with the Chief Secretaries of the States, where the special flights operated by the Air India and Air India Express would land during the first week of the mission the Union Government would launch to bring home the citizens stranded in the foreign countries due to the travel and transport curbs enforced around the world to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The first week of the “Vande Bharat Mission” will see 3150 people arriving in Kerala onboard 15 flights from seven countries, 3100 people landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi onboard 11 flights from nine countries and 2150 people reaching Tamil Nadu onboard 11 flights from nine countries. Besides, Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat will receive 1900, 1750 and 1100 returnees, while Punjab and Uttar Pradesh will receive 200 people each. Nearly 600 people will return to Jammu and Kashmir. Nearly 650 Indian citizens currently stranded in the United Kingdom, United States and Singapore are expected to arrive in Bengaluru by May 13 next.