AI flight from London lands with 329 passengers in Mumbai

A total of 329 people who were stranded in the UK due to travel restrictions arrived here in an Air India flight on Sunday morning.

The special evacuation flight AI 130 -- operated with a Boeing 777 plane -- which departed from London on Saturday, landed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) at around 1.30 am with 326 Indians, a source said earlier in the day.

A civil aviation ministry spokesperson said there were 329 passengers in the flight.

The flight is one of the 64 flights that are being operated by Air India and Air India Express as part of 'Vande Bharat Mission' to bring back Indians stranded in different countries in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Two more evacuation flights -- one each from Singapore and Manila (Philippines) -- are expected to arrive in Mumbai on Sunday, according to the spokesperson.

The flight from Singapore, AI 343, would be carrying 243 passengers while the flight from Manila, AI 387, would bring back 241 Indians, the spokesperson said.

"1st flight 2 #Mumbai landed- crew interaction less with the passengers. Protective kit was given 2 all-along with snack n meal kept on the seat beforehand. Next #quarantine. Watch the space," tweeted a passenger who was onboard the London-Mumbai flight.

"Reached Mumbai safely from UK. Thank you so much to @airindiain @HCI_London, @NISAU_UK, @MEAIndia," another passenger said in a tweet.

On Saturday, the Mumbai airport authorities said arriving passengers with symptoms will be moved to isolation centres.

Asymptomatic passengers residing in Mumbai will be moved to quarantine facilities like hotels, while those from outside of the city will be transported by the state to their respective district headquarters, it said.