A special Air India flight, that left for Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Thursday, 24 February, has been turned back due to the closure of Ukraine's airspace following the declaration of war against the country by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
News agency ANI reported that Air India special flight AI-1947, that was en route to Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv, decided to turn back following the issuance of a NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions).
The notice states that flights of civil aircrafts within Ukraine "are restricted due to potential hazard for civil aviation", according to PTI.
The flight had taken off from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) at around 7.30 am and following its re-routing, will land at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport around 12:35 pm on Thursday.
This was the second flight that had taken off from New Delhi to bring home Indians stranded in Ukraine. The first landed in Delhi at midnight on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a Ukraine International Airlines flight from Kyiv landed at the Delhi airport at around 7.45 am on Thursday, with around 182 Indian nationals onboard the flight, reported PTI.
Later on Thursday, Embassy of India in Doha, Qatar, issued a statement and said:
"Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed passengers traveling from Ukraine to travel by transit under India-Qatar bilateral air bubble arrangement."
Air India Operating Special Flights to Bring Indian Nationals Home
Air India on Friday, 18 February, had announced that it would operate three Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights between India and Ukraine on 22, 24, and 26 February for Indians stranded in the country amid the border crisis with Russia.
However, the recent developments in the conflict - most prominently the announcement of military operations by Russia on Thursday morning - have cast aspersions on whether the remaining flights scheduled on 26 February will be allowed into Ukranian airspace.
The flight that had taken off on 22 February brought back 240 Indians on board.
According to recent reports, explosions were heard across Ukraine on Thursday morning as Russia declared war on the country.
While Ukraine claimed that it had shot down five Russian planes and one helicopter, Russia said that it had destroyed a number of Ukraine's air bases.
Reuters reported that Ukraine had said that at least seven had been killed, and nine wounded by Russian shelling.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI and Reuters.)
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