Coronavirus lockdown: First flight from UAE with 177 Indians onboard lands in Kochi
New Delhi/IBNS: The first flight from Abu Dhabi with 177 Indians onboard including 49 pregnant women landed in Kochi on Thursday evening.
This is the first flight of Vande Bharat Mission of the Indian government aimed to bring home stranded nationals stuck abroad due to Coronavirus outbreak.
The first Air India Express flight took off at 5.07 pm (local time).
#VandeBharatMission begins!
— Anurag Srivastava (@MEAIndia) May 7, 2020
The first flight with 177 passengers takes off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi#TeamIndia will continue with its tireless efforts to bring Indians home@PMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @MoCA_GoI @MoHFW_INDIA @IndembAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/9wemQEhY23
Passengers at the boarding gate of @AUH ready to board Abu Dhabi to Kochi special flight IX452 #VandeBharatMission#staysafe #Weshallovercome @AmbKapoor @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @MoCA_GoI @airindiain pic.twitter.com/OB7DsSRbjF
— India in UAE (@IndembAbuDhabi) May 7, 2020
A few minutes later, the second one-Dubai-Kozhikode flight-took off at 5:46 pm (local time) as part of the massive repatriation exercise named ''Vande Bharat Mission.''
The first batch of 354 passengers being down on the first day showed no signs of COVID-19 symptoms.
Preparations for Vande Bharat Mission @AUH begins for the Abu Dhabi Kochi special flight IX452 with medical screening and IgM/IgG test of passengers. Thank you @mohapuae @SEHAHealth and @MoFAICUAE for your kind support.@AmbKapoor @MEAIndia @MoHFW_INDIA @falhosani11 pic.twitter.com/zKpyXwC8L0
— India in UAE (@IndembAbuDhabi) May 7, 2020
On Monday, the government announced the repatriation of Indian citizens outside the country in phases from May 7.
Over 14,800 Indians stuck in 13 countries will be brought back by 64 flights in the first week.
More than 3 lakh Indians have requested the central government to facilitate their return to home.
However, only asymptomatic people will be allowed onboard and therefore every passenger has to declare whether they have fever, cough, diabetes or any respiratory disease.
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