Air India UAE flight: Air India flight from UAE takes off with 177 Indian citizens | India Business News

DUBAI: Two special flights from the United Arab Emirates with a total of 354 Indian citizens departed for Kerala on Thursday, when India began its largest repatriation exercise to bring back its stranded citizens abroad amidst the international travel blockade by the coronavirus pandemic.
the Air India Express Flight IX452 carrying 177 passengers from Abu Dhabi to Kochi took off at 5.07 pm (local time). A few minutes later, the Dubai-Kozhikode flight took off at 5.46 pm (local time) as part of the repatriation exercise called ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.
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“The #VandeBharatMission begins! The first flight with 177 passengers takes off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi. #TeamIndia will continue its tireless efforts to bring the Indians home,” tweeted Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava.

Passengers began arriving at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Some of the passengers carried the Indian flag.
Indian Ambassador Pavan Kapoor was seen asking about the procedure by some of the passengers undergoing medical examinations at Abu Dhabi airport.
“It is great to see special flight IX452 #VandeBharatMission Abu Dhabi Kochi taking off from @AUH. Thank you all for the cooperation and support in making it possible,” the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi tweeted.

“Congratulations to all the passengers for patiently waiting their turn for the medical examination, and many thanks to all the frontline health workers and airport staff for providing full support,” he said previously.
Captain Rizvin Nasser, 26, a former student at the Sharjah Indian School, is a co-pilot on Flight IX452.
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Minutes after the departure of the first flight, India’s second repatriation flight from the UAE also took off.
“Air India Express Flight left for Kozhikode with 177 passengers on board with the last passenger Ajith being added to attend her mother’s final rites after one passenger left due to an immigration problem. Great satisfaction to all,” said the Indian Consulate General in Dubai. tweeted

Ajith Pullanikotti, an IT professional, arrived on the flight at the last minute to attend the last rites of her mother who died two days ago. He was the only son.
“I’ve been trying to go for weeks so I could be by my mother’s side. Unfortunately, he had to breathe one last time without me being by his side. I really hope I can do it today,” Ajith said.
There are no suspected cases of COVID-19 among the first batch of passengers repatriated on Thursday.
“They all passed the tests,” said the Indian Consul General in Dubai, Vipul.
He said the passenger selection criteria included medical cases, job losses, pregnant women and the elderly. Those with complications and financial problems were also chosen.
The last two rows of seats on both flights are not occupied. In case of health problems, passengers can use them.
On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a gradual repatriation of its stranded citizens abroad starting May 7. The government also said Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to 13 to bring back some 15,000 stranded Indian nationals abroad amid the COVID-19-induced Blockade.
Making a short list of the first passengers from a database of more than 200,000 applicants, including around 6,500 pregnant women, has been a gigantic undertaking that posed various challenges for the missions, Neeraj Agrawal, Consul, Press, Information and Culture at the Indian Consulate in Dubai said.
India is conducting its largest repatriation exercise called the Vande Bharat Mission, with no social distancing and COVID-19 tests to bring back stranded Indians from abroad.
Indian missions in the United Arab Emirates finalized the list of passengers, who were chosen based on the compelling reasons they presented when registering their names.
“Only passengers with confirmed tickets should proceed to the airport. They are required to arrive at the airport five hours before departure,” Agrawal said.
The Indian Consulate had asked passengers not to overcrowd the airport, maintain social distance and follow all necessary precautions stipulated by the authorities.
The passengers included 18 pregnant women, five babies and 12 older adults and three people, including identical twin brothers Jackson and Benson Andrews, who have been stranded at the Dubai airport for 50 days.
The weary and nostalgic 30-year-old brothers, Jackson and Benson Andrews, have been stranded inside Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport since March 19 while returning from Lisbon, Portugal. They were among the 19 Indians who were trapped inside the airport for more than a month.
Since the UAE, at least 200,000 Indians have registered on the web portal collecting data from people who wish to return home.
Air India crew members on board repatriation flights were fully protected with protective equipment, including personal protective equipment, to reduce the risk of contracting coronavirus.
According to data available on the website of the Embassy of India, the approximately 3.42 million Indian expat community is the largest ethnic community in the UAE, accounting for approximately 30% of the country’s population.
India imposed a national blockade to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the country, grounding all international flights since mid-March. Under the repatriation plan, the government will gradually facilitate the return of stranded Indian citizens abroad for compelling reasons.
On video: Covid-19: Vande Bharat’s mission begins; Indians stranded on flight aboard Abu Dhabi to Kochi