Tag: Bucharest

  • Air India’s second flight carrying 250 Indian evacuees from Ukraine lands in Delhi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Air India’s second evacuation flight from Romanian capital Bucharest carrying 250 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine landed at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Sunday, government officials said. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the evacuees at the airport by handing out roses to them.

    India on Saturday began the evacuation of its stranded citizens amid the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, with the first evacuation flight, AI1944, bringing back 219 people from Bucharest to Mumbai in the evening.

    The second evacuation flight, AI1942, carrying 250 Indian citizens landed at the Delhi airport around 2.45 am on Sunday, the officials said.

    Air India’s third evacuation flight, AI1940, which will depart from Hungarian capital Budapest, is also scheduled to return with evacuees to Delhi on Sunday, they said. The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24 morning when the Russian military offensive began.

    Therefore, the Indian evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.

    Indian nationals who reached the Ukraine-Romania border and Ukraine-Hungary border were taken to Bucharest and Budapest, respectively, by road with the assistance of Indian government officials so that they could be evacuated in these Air India flights, the officials said.

    The government is not charging the rescued citizens for the evacuation flights, they said. Air India shared on Twitter photos of Scindia receiving the evacuees at the airport.

    “Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia receiving the Indian nationals who were flown back to Delhi from Bucharest by AI 1942 on February 27 early morning, operated to evacuate Indians stranded at war-ravaged Ukraine,” the airline said.

    Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on February 24 that around 16,000 Indians, mainly students, were stranded in Ukraine.

    The Indian Embassy in Ukraine said on Twitter on Saturday that Indian citizens in Ukraine should not move to any of the border posts without prior coordination with the Indian government officials there using the helpline numbers.

    “The situation at various border checkpoints is sensitive and the Embassy is working continuously with our Embassies in our neighbouring countries for coordinated evacuation of our citizens,” it mentioned.

    The Indian Embassy in Ukraine said it is finding it increasingly difficult to help the crossing of those Indian nationals who are reaching border checkpoints without prior intimation.

    It said that staying in western cities of Ukraine with access to water, food, accommodation and basic amenities is relatively safer and advisable compared to reaching border checkpoints without being fully abreast of the situation.

    “All those currently in the eastern sector are requested to continue to remain in their current places of residence until further instructions, maintain calm, and stay indoors or in shelters as much as possible, with whatever food, water and amenities available and remain patient,” it said.

  • First AI flight carrying 219 Indian evacuees from Ukraine lands in Mumbai

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The first Air India flight carrying 219 Indian evacuees from Ukraine landed at the Mumbai airport from Bucharest, Romania, on Saturday evening, ATC sources said.

    Operated with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane, Air India flight AI-1944 touched down the runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) here at 7.50 pm, they said.

    Union Minister Piyush Goyal was at the airport to receive the Indian nationals returning from war-hit Ukraine on their arrival.

    The Air India flight had left from Mumbai for Bucharest at 3.38 am Saturday and landed there at around 10.45 am (Indian Standard Time). It departed for Mumbai at 1.55 pm (IST).

    #WATCH | Union Minister Piyush Goyal welcomes the Indian nationals safely evacuated from Ukraine at Mumbai airport pic.twitter.com/JGKReJE1ct
    — ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2022
    The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since the morning of February 24 and therefore, the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.

    Indian nationals who reached the Ukraine-Romania border by road have been taken to Bucharest by Indian government officials so that they can be evacuated in the Air India flights.

    Around 16,000 Indians, mainly students, were stranded in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on February 24.

    The distance between Kyiv and the Romanian border checkpoint is approximately 600 km and it takes anywhere between eight hours to 11 hours to cover it by road.

    The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday said it was working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had earlier in the day said on Twitter that AI1944 with “219 Indian nationals has taken off from Romania”.

    “Regarding evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, we are making progress. Our teams are working on the ground round the clock. I am personally monitoring,” he added.

    Air India will operate more flights on Saturday to Bucharest and Hungarian capital Budapest to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine.

    Prior to the closure of the Ukrainian airspace, Air India had operated a flight to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on February 22 that brought 240 people back. It had planned to operate two more flights on February 24 and February 26 but could not as the Russian offensive began on February 24 and the Ukrainian airspace was consequently shut down.