DUBAI : The first of the two flights from the UAE carrying 177 Indian nationals left for Kerala on Thursday, as India began its biggest ever repatriation exercise to bring back its citizens stranded abroad amidst the international travel lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
A total of 354 Indian nationals, including 11 pregnant women and a pair of twins, will return home on Thursday in the two flights from the UAE to Kerala as part of the repatriation exercise named ‘Vande Bharat Mission.’
The Air India Express flight IX452 took off from Abu Dhabi to Kochi, which will be followed by a Dubai-Kozhikode flight of the same airline.