Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (AM)

Mangaluru, May 20: Air India's first special flight to Muscat landed at Mangaluru International Airport with 65 passengers on Wednesday, May 20 at 8.05 pm.

Many passengers alighted in Bengaluru where the flight landed first. The plane carrying remaining 65 passengers landed in Mangaluru. The pilot of the flight was Mangalurean Capt Michael Saldanha.

Money transfer, SIM distribution, ration kit distribution and food arrangement was done for the passengers at the airport. After completing the formalities, including immigration check and filling the self-declaration form, the passengers were screened and tested to ensure they were asymptomatic and free from the Covid-19 virus.

Mangaluru airport

The crew members of the flight

Bus facility has been arranged to take the returnees for the 14-day institutional quarantine in hotels and other places in the coastal city. Passengers will also be asked to download the mandatory quarantine app, the Aroygya Sethu app and Apthamitra app before leaving the airport for contact tracing later.

The first special flight from Dubai to Mangaluru landed in the city on May 12 with 177 passengers and the second one landed in Mangaluru on May 18 with 178 passengers.

Air India is operating flights to repatriate thousands of Indians, including distressed workers, migrants, students, senior citizens and tourists, stranded overseas since the government suspended international flights on March 23 and enforced an extended lockdown on March 25 to combat Covid-19.