AI special flight evacuates stranded Germans home

German Consulate and TS government help a group of 38 passengers reach the airport by 6 a.m.

March 31, 2020 07:44 pm | Updated 09:54 pm IST - HYDERABAD

German nationals, who were stranded at various places in Hyderabad due to the coronavirus lockdown, board a special relief flight for Mumbai, at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday.

German nationals, who were stranded at various places in Hyderabad due to the coronavirus lockdown, board a special relief flight for Mumbai, at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday.

The Hyderabad International Airport is continuing to handle COVID-19 relief and evacuation flights despite the shutdown. A special relief flight operated by Air India arrived to evacuate German nationals stranded in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The special flight - AI 3005, a Dreamliner (Boeing B787-8) aircraft landed at 7.32 a.m. from Chennai and a group of 38 passengers including 19 females, 17 males and two infants from various places in the city reached the airport at around 6 a.m with the help of the German Consulate and TS government.

The passengers were serviced through the fully-sanitised Interim International Departures Terminal (IIDT) and a select group of personnel from GHIAL terminal operations, AOCC (Airport operations & control center), ATC (Air Traffic Control), CISF, immigration, customs, and others were available to ensure safe and seamless departure of the stranded passengers, an official spokesman said.

Special screening and safety measures were in place to protect against COVID-19 threat including thermal screening prior to entry and social distancing enforced through special queuing arrangements at all passenger processing points. A few German nationals picked up from Chennai were already seated in the plane when these passengers clambered on. The special relief flight departed to Mumbai at 9.22 a.m. and then to Frankfurt.

Indigo special flight

Few days ago, another special rescue flight of IndiGo from Mumbai landed here on March 28 around 2.30 p.m. with eight crew members, who disembarked at the RGIA and departed to Chennai with five other stranded IndiGo crew members at around 3.15 p.m.

All the crew members were screened as per COVID-19 procedures and their information was collected, recorded and shared with the TS health department as per the guidelines. The airport cargo, as earlier reported, continues to remain fully operational to keep the vital link of essential supplies round-the-clock, the spokesman added.

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