Coronavirus: SpiceJet will operate nine flights to Kyrgystan to be back from 1,500 Indian students.
New Delhi:
After helping hundreds of migrant workers return home during the height of the coronavirus lockdown across the country, actor Sonu Sood has partnered with SpiceJet to evacuate 1,500 Indian students from Kyrgyzstan.
The information was shared on SpiceJet’s Twitter account, where the airline said it will operate nine such flights, the first of which took off today from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
“It’s a historic day! SpiceJet, in association with real-life hero Sonu Sood, is embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime evacuation operation to reunite 1,500 Indian students stranded in Kyrgyzstan, with their families. The first of 9 programs special flights have taken off from Delhi! ”tweeted SpiceJet, the first Indian budget carrier to be licensed to operate services to the United States. Only the national carrier Air India has operated flights on India-United States routes so far.
It’s a historic day! SpiceJet, in association with real-life hero Sonu Sood, embarks on a one-time evacuation operation to reunite 1,500 Indian students stranded in Kyrgyzstan, with their families. The first of 9 special flights took off from Delhi! pic.twitter.com/2Qo1GH72SS
– SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) July 23, 2020
Previously, in addition to renting buses to send migrant workers to their home states amid the coronavirus lockdown, actor Sonu Sood had also mobilized resources to charter two flights to Assam, returning more than 300 men, women and children at home.
The coronavirus crisis had left thousands of migrant workers unemployed, homeless and hungry and prompted lakhs to return home as the government imposed unprecedented travel restrictions across the country to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The government had suspended all road, rail and air transport services, including international flights, before the lockdown that began on March 25.
As state governments used buses to bring stranded people to the safety of quarantine centers, Indian Railways launched special Shramik trains on May 1. The government has also launched the Vande Bharat mission to evacuate Indians stranded abroad amid the pandemic. According to the government, more than 650,000 Indians stranded abroad due to a coronavirus pandemic were evacuated until July 14.
