The first Air India Express flight carrying Indian citizens from Abu Dhabi landed at the Kochi airport on Thursday night as India launched its biggest ever repatriation exercise in its history to bring back its nationals stranded abroad amid the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
The Air India Express flight IX 452 with 181 passengers landed at the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) at 10.09 pm, news agency PTI reported quoting an airline spokesman.
First flight of #VandeBharatMission has landed at Kochi with 181 passengers.
A moment to cherish the leadership of @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji & @DrSJaishankar ji which made this complex mission possible.
Kudos to #TeamMEA & sister ministries for their tireless efforts! pic.twitter.com/MSidtZ4fvl
— V Muraleedharan (@VMBJP) May 7, 2020
Taking to micro-blogging website, Twitter, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said, "First flight of Vande Bharat Mission has landed at Kochi with 181 passengers. A moment to cherish the leadership of PM Narendra Modi ji and S Jaishankar ji which made this complex mission possible. Kudos to Team MEA and sister ministries for their tireless efforts!"
Another Air India Express flight IX 344 with over 180 passengers from Dubai is expected to land at the Kozhikode International Airport at on Thursday night, he said. The evacuated citizens will be sent to the quarantine facilities set up by the administration in their respective districts, Kerala government officials said.
