Amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, an Air India flight took off from Mumbai airport on Saturday morning for Romania’s capital Bucharest to rescue Indians stranded in Ukraine. Russian military offensiveNews agency PTI Reported. Senior government officials said the Air India flight, AI1943, took off from Mumbai airport at around 3.40am and is expected to land at Bucharest airport at around 10am (Indian Standard Time). PTI, Air India said on Twitter that it will operate B787 aircraft from Delhi and Mumbai to Bucharest and Budapest on Saturday as special government charter flights to bring back stranded Indian nationals.
He said Indian nationals arriving at Ukraine-Romania border by road are being taken by Indian government officials to Bucharest so that they can be evacuated by Air India flight. Air India will operate more flights to Bucharest and Hungarian capital Budapest on Saturday to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine.
Since the morning of 24 February Ukraine’s airspace has been closed to civilian aircraft operations and, therefore, evacuation flights are operating from Bucharest and Budapest. Officials said around 20,000 Indians, mainly students, are currently stranded in Ukraine. Before closing Ukraine’s airspace, Air India flew a flight to Ukraine’s capital Kiev on February 22, carrying 240 people back to India.
It had planned to operate two more flights on 24 February and 26 February, but it could not do so as the Russian offensive began on 24 February and Ukrainian airspace was closed as a result.
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine on Friday said it is working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary.
“Currently, teams are meeting at the following checkpoints: the Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod, the Porbane-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi,” it said.
The embassy said that Indian nationals, especially students, who live closest to these border posts are advised to proceed in an organized manner in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to realize this option.
Once the above routes are operational, Indian nationals traveling on their own would be advised to proceed at the border posts, it noted.
The embassy advised Indian travelers to carry their passports, cash (preferably in US dollars), other essentials and COVID-19 vaccination certificates to the border posts.
It said, “Take a print out of the Indian flag and affix it prominently on vehicles and buses during the journey.”
The distance between Kiev and the Romanian border post is about 600 kilometers and it takes eight and a half hours to 11 hours to cover it by road.
Bucharest is located about 500 kilometers from the Romanian border post and takes anywhere from seven to nine hours to cover the distance by road. The distance between Kiev and Hungarian border post is approximately 820 kms and it takes 12-13 hours to cover by road.
(with inputs from agencies)
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