Ukraine war: Aviation Ministry says 11 civilian, 4 IAF flights will bring back Indians on Saturday

PTI, Mar 4, 2022, 7:37 PM IST

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New Delhi: Eleven civilian and four Indian Air Force (IAF) flights will return to India on Saturday with Indians from Ukraine’s neighboring countries, the Civil Aviation Ministry has stated.

The 11 civilian flights are expected to bring back more than 2,200 Indians, with 10 landing in Delhi and one in Mumbai, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The statement did not say how many Indians will be coming on the four IAF flights.

India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine’s western neighbors such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to a Russian military offensive.

On Friday, 14 civilian and three IAF flights brought 3,772 Indians back, the statement noted.

”One more civilian flight is expected to arrive later in the day (Friday),” it mentioned.

The IAF has deployed C-17 military transport aircraft for the evacuation exercise.

The civilian flights are being operated by Indian carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India.

”So far, over 9,364 Indians have been evacuated by 43 special civilian flights,” the statement noted.