Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday extended a warm welcome to the 250 Indian nationals who returned home after being evacuated from war-hit Ukraine.
Air India’s second evacuation flight from the Romanian capital Bucharest landed at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Sunday.
Taking to Twitter, Scindia wrote, “Joyous homecoming! Relieved & delighted to see 250 Indians safely return from Ukraine on the Air India flight at the Delhi Airport. Received & interacted with them along with my colleague Sh V Muraleedharan Ji. Welcome back! #Operation Ganga.”
India began the evacuation of its stranded citizens amid the Russian military offensive in Ukraine on Saturday, with the first evacuation flight bringing back 219 people from Bucharest to Mumbai in the evening.
The second evacuation flight carrying 250 Indian citizens landed at the Delhi airport around 2:45 am on Sunday, government officials said.
Scindia and MoS MEA V Muraleedharan were seen welcoming the Indian nationals with flowers upon their arrival from Ukraine.
Air India’s third evacuation flight, which will depart from the Hungarian capital Budapest, is also scheduled to return with evacuees to Delhi on Sunday.
Air India also shared photos of Scindia receiving the evacuees at the airport on Twitter.
On Friday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said that around 16,000 Indians, mainly students, were stranded in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24, the morning when the Russian military offensive began. Therefore, Indian evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.
Indian nationals who reached the Ukraine-Romania border and Ukraine-Hungary border were taken to Bucharest and Budapest, respectively, by road with the assistance of Indian government officials so that they could be evacuated on those Air India flights, the officials said.
The government is not charging the rescued citizens for the evacuation flights, they said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and conveyed India’s deep concern for the safety and security of Indian citizens, including students, present in Ukraine.
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