JOIN USA journey back home in times of war
“I was not sure whether I would reach India safely or get stranded in the airport till the flight departed Almaty in Kazakhstan for New Delhi on February 23. I spent almost a day at Kazakhstan airport. I reached Delhi after travelling for more than 12 hours,” said Jayasheela K H from Shivamogga, who reached home safely along with 14 other Indian medical students from the war-hit Ukraine.
Speaking to DH, Jayasheela K H, who is in second-year medical degree in Bukovinian State Medical University in Chernivtsi, Western part of Ukraine, said “our seniors had arranged a bus to reach Kyiv, from college hostel to board the flight. We left the hostel on February 22 night at 11 pm (local time) and reached the airport the next day morning. Our flight for Almaty was slated to depart at 9 pm on February 23. But it was delayed by five hours. We were not aware that Russia had started its war against Ukraine”
“We boarded the flight for Almaty at Kyiv after waiting for almost a day. After some hours of journey, the flight halted at Atyrau, a city in Kazakhstan citing technical issues. Later, the journey resumed and we reached Almaty in the afternoon. The flight finally landed in Delhi at 7.30 pm on February 24,” she said.
Jayasheela added that she was trying to book a flight ticket on Air Astana since February 14. But seats were not available at all and airfare was going high. “We had to pay more than Rs 50,000 for a direct flight from Kyiv to Bengaluru or Mumbai. But we did not have much money. So we decided to reach India via Kazakhstan and a ticket was booked for the flight on February 23. I spent about Rs 33,00 on the ticket.”
About the situation in Ukraine, she said normal life was not disrupted a week ago despite the war scare. But the prices of food items went up.
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