Air India Flight Brings Back Indians From Ukraine Amid Rising Tensions

Ukraine Crisis: Air India on Tuesday operated a Boeing-787 flight to bring back Indians from the Ukraine border amid rising tensions.

Air India special flight leaving from Ukraine to Delhi with a total of 241 passengers on-board (ANI photo)

New Delhi: In midst of the deepening crisis between Russia and Ukraine, 250 Indian students belonging to various states returned from Ukraine to Delhi. 

Air India on Tuesday operated a Boeing-787 flight to bring back Indians from Ukraine border amid rising tensions. The aircraft has capacity to carry more than 250 passengers.

#WATCH | Air India special flight carrying around 242 passengers from Ukraine reaches Delhi pic.twitter.com/ctuW0sA7UY

— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2022

According to flight tracking websites, AI-1947 took off from New Delhi at around 7.30 am IST and arrived at the airport in Kyiv in Ukraine at around 3 pm.

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday once again advised Indian students to return to India temporarily. Air India had announced on February 19 that it would operate flights between India and Ukraine on February 22, 24, and 26. Meanwhile, Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of airline Vistara, said on Tuesday that he has no plans to operate a flight to Ukraine.

"At this time, we are not planning flights to Ukraine because of aircraft limitations and other reasons," he told PTI.

Many countries including America and Britain have criticized this decision of Russia and said that Russia is preparing for war. 

Earlier in the day, India's Permanent Representative TS Tirumurti in the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council has also said that taking back Indian citizens is the priority of the government.

"Safety and security of civilians is essential. More than 20,000 Indian students and nationals live and study in different parts of Ukraine, including its border areas. The well-being of Indians is of priority to us," he said.

On Monday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two separatist-controlled areas in Ukraine. Since then the situation has remained tense.