Air India Flight Waiting For Nod From Beijing To Evacuate Indians

Returnees to be in quarantine for two weeks: Health Minister

- Aditya Anand

India has begun the process to evacuate nationals from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, Hubei province of China.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday said the government was planning to send a plane to Wuhan and a special Air India flight had got the go-ahead from aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The evacuation process will take some days, Mr. Jaishankar told reporters at Vadodara airport.

“The aircraft will fly Mumbai-Wuhan-Delhi as per requirement for passenger evacuation,” a senior DGCA official said.

The 423-seater doubledecker aircraft, with a 12 member crew, will fly as soon as China grants the required permissions, he said.

Officials said the government was also working on the issue on who will foot the tab for the evacuation.