The third flight carrying Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine has landed in New Delhi, according to a News18 report.
Air India’s third evacuation flight, AI1940, which departed from Hungarian capital Budapest, reached Delhi on Sunday as Ukraine entered day four of a ruthless invasion by Russia.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted pictures of the third flight of “Operation Ganga” with 240 Indian nationals arriving from Budapest.
The second evacuation flight from the Romanian capital Bucharest, AI1942, brought home 250 Indians stuck in Ukraine at around 2.45 am. With this, more than 500 Indian citizens have returned in two separate flights on Sunday so far.
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Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the evacuees at the airport by handing out roses to them.
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 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, government officials said.
The government is not charging the rescued citizens for the evacuation flights.
Air India shared on Twitter photos of Scindia receiving the evacuees at the airport.
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“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.
