Vande Bharat Mission: First flight from London lands in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The first Air India flight from London to Bengaluru, as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus lockdown, landed in Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday, May 11 morning.

The first Air India repatriation flight to Bengaluru, carrying 326 nationals, including three infants and 12 crew members, landed at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) from London at 4.47 am.

The flight (AI 162/AI 1803) suffered a delay of over 100 minutes.

AI 162 had a delayed start from Heathrow airport and had a stopover at New Delhi en route. “It was a planned technical stopover and no passengers alighted there,” said an airline source. According to Air Traffic Control records, the flight occurred at 4.41 am.

This is the first of six flights to be operated by Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express to Bengaluru to bring Indians stranded abroad under the Vande Bharat Mission, said an airport official.