Air India Express flight IX 434 from Dubai landed at the Cochin international airport a little after 8 p.m. on Monday with 178 passengers as efforts continued to bring home Indians stranded in the Gulf countries following the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The passengers comprised 86 men and 86 women, five children below 10 years of age and an infant, airport sources said.
Two more flights are scheduled to bring Indians to Kochi on Tuesday. According to the Cochin international airport authorities, Air India Express flights IX 485 and AI 1924 will bring stranded Indians from Singapore and Dammam respectively. Both the flights are scheduled to land after 8.30 p.m.
Naval ship INSMagar is scheduled to reach Kochi with 202 Indians from the Maldives on Tuesday. The ship is scheduled to berth at the port here around 7.30 p.m.
Full-fledged zone
The city police have set up a full-fledged makeshift arrival zone at the Kochi port ahead of the arrival of the second vessel carrying evacuees from the Maldives on Tuesday.
“We have set up the entire arrival zone with focus on efficient, speedy and safe disembarkation and transportation of evacuees while maintaining all social distancing norms. We have created a separate waiting area allowing the entry of passengers into the hall only in batches to minimise the exposure of officials handling them,” said Vijay Sakhare, Inspector General and officer-in-charge of handling expatriates returning home.
