Air India brings home 144 stranded Indians from Ukraine

A special Air India flight brought home 144 stranded Indians from Ukraine under the Centre's 'Vande Bharat' mission.

A special Air India flight brought home 144 stranded Indians from Ukraine under the Centre's 'Vande Bharat' mission. "Air India flight no. AI1928 carrying 144 Indians from Borispol (Ukraine) via Delhi landed at Chandigarh International Airport on June 27 at around 12:50 am," according to an official statement.

It further stated that the repatriated persons, who mostly belong to Punjab and nearby states, will reach their districts under the supervision of the respective state government representatives where they will be quarantined as per the Centre's guidelines. The current repatriation exercise of bringing home Indian nationals stranded in foreign countries amid the coronavirus pandemic is taking place under the Government of India's flagship 'Vande Bharat' mission.

The mission, which started from May 7, is in its third phase. The recent phase commenced on June 11.

Under the third phase, India would operate 550 flights including 191 feeder flights. As many as 2,50,087 Indian nationals stranded abroad have been repatriated since the beginning of the repatriation mission last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

The Indian government has also approved additional flight services to bring back Indian nationals who are still stranded abroad.