COVID-19: Air India special flight departs with 151 Indians from Jeddah
151 Indians are onboard the craft
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Air India special flight with 151 stranded Indians on board departed from Jeddah for Kerala's Kozhikod on Wednesday.
"1st AI Flight under #VandeBharatMission from Jeddah to Kozhikode departed at 1700 hrs with 151 persons on board. CG @NoorRahman_IFS oversaw the departure operations at the airport & wished everyone a happy reunion with their families back in India," India consulate in Jeddah tweeted.
India began phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7 under Vande Bharat Mission. The government had said that Air India will operate 64 flights in a week to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals.
Over 8,500 Indians have already returned till today's morning and more flights are underway, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet.