Mumbai, March 4
Budget carrier AirAsia India on Friday said it is operating an evacuation flight from the Romanian city of Suceva to bring back stranded Indians from war-torn Ukraine.
AirAsia India’s maiden rescue flight under Operation Ganga took off for Delhi from Suseva carrying over 170 guests, the airline said on Friday.
“The flight left Suseva for Delhi at 6.30 pm (local time) and is being operated via Dubai. An AirAsia India spokesperson said, “Subject to OCC approval, it is expected to reach Delhi at 4.30 am (Saturday).
The Bengaluru-headquartered carrier, in which the Tata Group holds 83.6 per cent, and Malaysian airliner group AirAsia holds the remaining 16.33 per cent, also said it was looking to operate a few more evacuation flights.
“While there are other flights that are being planned, they are all subject to the requirement of the Ministry of External Affairs and can be chartered only a day in advance,” he said.
India is evacuating its citizens from Ukraine’s western neighbors such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland through special flights as Ukrainian airspace has been closed since February 24 due to Russian military strikes.
Apart from civilian flights, which are so far operated by Air India, Air India Express, Indigo, GoFirst and SpiceJet, the Indian Air Force is helping the government to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 15 flights landed in India during the last 24 hours, bringing back 3,000 Indian nationals, while 16 flights are scheduled for the next 24 hours.