Special flights under Vande Bharat Mission brought back 1,800 stranded Indian nationals from Gulf countries yesterday. Eleven flights took off from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar to India under the Vande Bharat Mission yesterday.
From Doha there were two flights – one going to Hyderabad and the other to Vishakhapatnam. The flight to Vishakhapatnam had 140 passengers, while the flight to Hyderabad had 177 passengers and seven infants.
Three flights took off from Saudi Arabia. Riyadh to Kannur and Dammam to Bengaluru. This flight will later go to Hyderabad as well. Dammam flight had 164 passengers including four infants.
Riyadh Kannur flight had 152 passengers on board including seven infants. From Jeddah, 145 stranded Indians took off for Hyderabad and Vijayawada.
From Dubai also two flights were operated for Kochi and Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar flight had 148 passengers and two infants. The flight to Kochi had 177 passengers with six infants. At least 43 cases of pregnant women and 49 cases of medical emergency were on board.
Kuwait-Thiruvananthapuram flight left with 175 passengers and three infants on board.
From Oman, three flights were operated. Muscat – Bengaluru flights had 177 passengers and two infants. Muscat Kannur flight was also fully booked with 180 passengers and two infants. Salalah – Calicut flight took off with 177 passengers and three infants.
Meanwhile, four flights from Muscat, Doha and Dubai are scheduled today from the Gulf under the Vande Bharat Mission. Nearly 700 stranded Indians hope to be repatriated back to the country.
There are two flights from Muscat. One to Delhi and the other to Kozhikode. Flight from Dubai is scheduled for Thiruvanathapuram while flight from Doha will go to Kochi.
Priority is being given to distressed blue collared workers , medical emergency cases, pregnant women, stranded tourists and elderly people on these special flights. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the flight.
