COVID-19 lockdown: Flight with 143 NRTs lands in Vijayawada

The passengers were screened at London before boarding the flight and again after arrival. Their swabs were collected at the airport and sent for testing.

Krishna Collector MD Imtiyaz inspecting the Vijayawada airport in the view of flights from other countries on Tuesday. (Photo | EPS) 

VIJAYAWADA: The first flight carrying 143 Non Resident Telugus (NRTs) from London landed at Vijayawada International Airport on Wednesday.

The flight took off from London and landed first at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai and from there at the Gannavaram airport.

"Nearly 75 per cent of them have opted for paid quarantine so far. They will be taken in APSRTC buses to the select hotel, designated as paid quarantine facility," said President of AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS), Venkat S Medapati.

A total of nine APSRTC buses were arranged to shift the foreign returnees from airport to the quarantine facility.

The passengers were screened at London before boarding the flight and again after arrival. Their swabs were collected at the airport and sent for testing.

All the 143 returnees will be quarantined in Vijayawada for 14 days after which they will be taken to their respective districts. After dropping them at home, they will be monitored by health officials for a further period of 14 days.  

The second flight is set to land from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at 10:45 pm today.