The Air India Express plane from Dubai that crashed in Kozhikode late on Friday was a repatriation flight operated under Vande Bharat, and those on board were returning after being stranded for several months.
The passenger manifest of the flight, a copy of which is with The Hindu, shows that a large number of passengers were those who were stranded tourists reuniting with their families after months, accounting for as many as 56 of the total 175 on board. There were 10 infants, as well as six crew members on the flight, taking the total to 191.
There were many who were forced to return after they lost their jobs, as well as those whose visas had expired.
Some were students, while at least two were returning to get married.
