Vande Bharat Mission: Two airports in Andhra Pradesh receive 459 stranded Indians

An Air India flight carrying 145 people stranded in London, landed at Vijayawada Airport on Wednesday, as part of the biggest ever off-shore evacuation drive of Indian citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission. The international airport in Visakhapatnam received two flights, one from Manila (Philippines) and the other from Abu Dhabi with 166 and 148 passengers respectively on Tuesday night, airport authorities said.

The national carrier from London arrived via Mumbai at the Airport at 8 AM, Vijayawada Airport Director G Madhusudhana Rao said adding this was the first flight received after the lockdown was enforced across the country including Andhra Pradesh.

"As per protocols all the passengers were checked and sent to quarantine with the help of the state government. Immigration and customs clearance was done here only. The flight landed as an international transit flight," the official told PTI.

"We have set up five medical counters for screening of the passengers. Also we have set up counters district-wise for the convenience of the passengers," he said.

Visakhapatnam Airport Director Raj Kishore said the aerodrome received two Air India flights, one from Abu Dhabi and the other from Manila (Philippines) on Tuesday night as part of Vande Bharat Mission. According to him, the Manila flight landed in Vizag Airport via Mumbai at 9.50 PM, while the Abu Dhabi flight arrived at 8.30 PM. He said all the passengers were screened thoroughly and sent to quarantine as per their choice, either paid or state- run facilities.

"None of the passengers was symptomatic," Kishore said.