Second evacuation flight with Indian nationals from Ukraine lands in Delhi

As many as 250 Indian nationals who were stranded in Ukraine landed at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Sunday. This is Air India’s second evacuation flight from Romanian capital Bucharest, government officials said.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the evacuees at the airport by handing out roses to them.

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On Saturday, India 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.

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According to news agency ANI, 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.

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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.

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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.