CHENNAI: The first evacuation flight of Air India Express to Chennai from Dubai landed at Chennai International Airport with 179 passengers on Saturday at about 1.10 a.m.
According to an official of Air India Express, the flight IX 612 passengers include three infants.
One more repatriation flight (IX 540) with 177 passengers is expected to land at the airport later.
The flights are being operated as a part of Indian's government's plan to bring back Indian's who were stranded in foreign countries due to COVID-19 lockdown called Vande Bharat Mission.
According to an official of Tamil Nadu Health Department about 10 flights carrying stranded Indians are expected to land in Chennai - one or two flights daily with a total of about 400 passengers.
He said the passengers will be screened at the airport and they would be advised to be quarantined. There will be about 60 health department officials deployed at the airport.
An airport official had earlier said the passengers will deboard the plane in small batches.