Vande Bharat Mission: First evacuation flight from UK with 326 Indians lands in Mumbai

Mumbai: As India's major evacuation mission the Vande Bharat Mission entered its fourth day on Sunday (May 10, 2020), Air India`s first evacuation flight with 326 Indians from London landed at Mumbai.

Informing of the successful landing of the flight the Indian high commission in the UK said that the flight took off from London on Saturday on board 326 people and appreciated the patience of passengers.

First evacuation flight for Mumbai took off from London today with 326 Indians on board. We appreciate your patience. More destinations being covered soon. Stay with us. @DrSJaishankar @harshvshringla @MEAIndia @CGI_Bghm @IndiaInScotland @RuchiGhanashyam https://t.co/iMC62errT3 — India in the UK (@HCI_London) May 9, 2020

It landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. On May 9, 1373 more Indians returned to India from foreign countries as eight Vande Bharat flights from Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur & Dhaka landed in India. Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri shared the information on his official Twitter handle.

1373 more Indians return to India aboard eight Vande Bharat flights from Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur & Dhaka today. I welcome them home & thank @airindiain AirIndia Express @MEAIndia @AAI_Official & our missions abroad for making this happen.@PMOIndia @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/NziV1X225A

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 9, 2020

On Monday, India announced had that it will begin phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7.

The government said that Air India will operate 64 flights in the first week from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals.On day three of the `Vande Bharat Mission`, flights carrying Indians from the Gulf countries, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and Malaysia arrived in India.