Special flight carrying 144 stranded Indians from Kiev lands at Chandigarh

A special flight from Ukraine capital Kiev carrying 144 stranded Indians landed here on Sunday under the Centre's Vande Bharat Mission.

Two passengers were from Chandigarh, 54 from Himachal Pradesh, 53 from Haryana, 34 from Punjab and one from Rajasthan.

All precautionary measures related to COVID-19 were at place at the international airport here to handle the incoming passengers. They were screened by Punjab Health Department authorities and subsequently handed over to respective states after immigration and customs clearances.

Afterwards, all passengers were sent to quarantine as per protocol issued by respective states, they said.

On May 22, an Air India special flight from New York carrying 100 passengers who belonged to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh had landed at the Chandigarh International Airport. The Centre had recently said that the mega mission to bring home Indians stranded abroad will continue till June 13 and the extended phase will cover 47 countries. The second phase of the mission was to end on May 22.

As per the government policy, Indians having "compelling reasons" to return like pregnant women, elderly people, students and those facing the prospect of deportation are being brought back home.