After two Air India flights evacuated over 600 Indians from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, the crew has been sent on a week-long leave, an Air India spokesperson said on Monday, 3 February.
As reported by ANI, 64 people were part of the evacuation efforts. This group had 30 cabin crew, 8 pilots and 10 commercial staff from Air India. One senior officer from the Air India CMD Secretariat was also part of the crew, the spokesperson said.
Air India's Director of Operations, Captain Amitabh Singh, was leading the team.
The Evacuation Mission
After the outbreak of the coronavirus emergency in Wuhan, Air India operated two special flights to evacuate Indians trapped in the city. The flights have evacuated over 650 Indians and Maldivians from China, and the evacuees are now in quarantine facilities, under medical supervision.
Before the first Air India rescue flight departed from the Delhi airport, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani had clarified the policies the flight crew would follow.
“No service will take place in the plane. Whatever food is there will be kept in seat pockets. As there will be no service, there will be no interaction (between cabin crew and passengers).”Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani
"Masks have been arranged for the crew and passengers. For our crew, we have also arranged a complete protective gear," he had added.
The flights landed in India on 1 February and 2 February, after completing the evacuation missions.
Twitter Applauds the Crew
The efforts of the Air India crew were met with widespread appreciation on Twitter. Many users, including politicians and journalists, applauded their dedication and service.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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