NEW DELHI: In a significant development amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Air India on Tuesday operated the first Indian carrier flight from Dubai to New Delhi, carrying 149 stranded passengers.
Air India's flight AI916D was the first flight carrying passengers by an Indian carrier from West Asia to India in the last three days. The flight reached Terminal 3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10.58 am.
In a related development, 143 cockpit and cabin crew members of Air India and Air India Express who were stranded in Dubai for the last couple of days, safely arrived in Delhi by flight AI918D, Air India said.
The airline did not make any prior announcement about the special flights as was done by other airlines.
A source said, "We got to know this morning only of one window available to operate a flight from Dubai International Airport and so we decided to immediately utilise it for this special flight." The flight carried only Air India passengers who had booked tickets but could not travel earlier due to the crisis.
The Operations Control Centre and supporting teams have been working around the clock to facilitate these flights in extraordinary circumstances, ensuring seamless coordination throughout, the airline said in a statement.
"We express our sincere gratitude to the Government of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the local authorities in Dubai for their continued cooperation in enabling these vital operations," it added. "We will continue to monitor the situation, and we are in close contact with Dubai Airports and other relevant authorities to operate more flights at the earliest opportunity, as and when permissible," the statement added.
In an interaction with ANI, passengers who reached the airport spoke of the soaring living expenses in Dubai due to the conflict. A passenger said, "The situation is quite normal, there's not much tension, but due to flight cancellations and other things, people are facing financial impacts. Staying there is very expensive... Air India guided us completely. The government there is providing as much help as it can."
Another passenger told ANI, "I am from Noida. We had gone there as tourists. Our return was scheduled for February 28, and that's when all this happened, and our flight got cancelled." The passenger also urged the government to cover the living expenses of Indians in Dubai. "We had to bear the expenses in Dubai. Our only request is that other tourists also be brought back as soon as possible. We are very grateful to India and Air India," the passenger said.
