The first Air India flight from Kiev landed in Delhi around 11.30 p.m. on Tuesday, bringing back 254 passengers.
Air India has three flights for Ukraine this week, out of which the first flight took off from New Delhi’s International airport at 7.30 a.m. on Tuesday. The airline operated a Boeing Dreamliner with 254 seats, and the return flight was fully occupied, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Air India has never before operated commercial flights to Ukraine. A flight each is also scheduled for February 24 and 26.
“Other Indian operators are expected to start their flight services depending on the demand from Ukraine,” a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
In an advisory, the Indian Embassy in Kiev earlier said the Ukraine International Airlines will operate four flights — one each on February 25, and March 6 and two on February 27. In a statement, the UIA said that two more flights were in the pipeline and that it was working with the Ministry of External Affairs and the DGCA to ensure that “additional flights can be added on an urgent basis”.
“We are committed to providing our best support to Indian travellers wanting to return urgently because of the latest advisories. We are assessing the situation daily and doing everything to ensure we prioritise the safety of our passengers,” Sergey Fomenka, executive vice-president for Commerce at UIA said.
