A special Air India flight landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening after taking off from Bucharest, the Capital of the crisis-hit country's neighbour, Romania.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday welcomed Indian nationals evacuated from war-torn Ukraine as they landed in Mumbai on a special Air India flight that took off from Bucharest, the capital of Romania, neighboring the eastern European country.
"...and as soon as you go back home, please assure everyone not to worry. Be patient. Today Hon'ble Prime Minister also spoke to the President of Ukraine and requested him to keep all Indians safe. The Russians have also promised to help evacuate all our Indian citizens. So I urge all of you to be very strong and give that strength to all your friends who are still in Ukraine,” Goyal took to his Twitter handle. In a video uploaded, the evacuation (219 in total) is visible.
Welcome back to the motherland!
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 26, 2022
Glad to see the smiles on the faces of Indians safely evacuated from Ukraine at the Mumbai airport.
Govt. led by PM @NarendraModi ji is working relentlessly to ensure safety of every Indian. pic.twitter.com/fjuzjtNl9r
The minister then talked about two more Air India evacuation flights, one each from Romania and Hungary, which would reach Delhi in the early hours of Sunday, with Indians living in Ukraine on board.
"This process will continue," he assured.
Goyal also lauded the Tata Sons-owned airline, leading to loud applause from passengers. “I must thank the crew of Air India. This is the true spirit of nationalism. This is the strength of India. We have to give this takat to all those Bachchans who are on the vehicle now. I welcome you on behalf of PM Modi. We thank God that you are all safe. All facilities are here for your convenience. Welcome to the motherland,” he said.
The flight that left for Bucharest earlier today arrived at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 8:01 pm.
With Ukraine's airspace closed due to an invasion order by Russian President Vladimir Putin, India is trying to evacuate its citizens stranded there with special flights from countries bordering it.