Vande Bharat Phase II mission to repatriate Non-Resident Indians stranded in 31 countries commenced on Saturday with the Air India Express flying in 177 and four infants from Dubai to Kochi. Of the passengers, 73 were pregnant women.
The AIE flight is the first in the second phase of of evacuation efforts. The first phase of evacuation by air ended on May 13.
Two flights delayed
The second flight to the State is from Abu Dhabi to the Thiruvananthapuram international airport. The flight (IX 538), scheduled to arrive in the capital at 10.40 p.m., has been delayed. As The Hindu goes to press, it is on the way to the destination. There are 182 passengers, including five infants, on the flight.
The third flight is from Abu Dhabi to Kozhikode. The flight (IX 348), scheduled to land at Karipur airport at 11.30 p.m., has been delayed. It has 182 passengers, including five infants, and is expected to reach at 2 a.m. on Sunday, airline sources added.
There will be 19 flights in the second phase, which will continue till June 3. Both the AIE and Air India will operate flights.
Stopover flights
There will also be stopover flights (via Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru) from San Francisco, Melbourne, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Yerevan (Armenia), Kiev (Ukraine) and Manila (the Philippines) along with flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Doha and Kuala Lumpur.
