Air India plane with nearly 240 Indians from Ukraine lands at Delhi airport

New Delhi, Feb 22: An Air India plane carrying around 240 Indians from Ukraine landed at the Delhi airport at around 11.40 pm on Tuesday.

Amid rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Air India operated a Boeing 787 aircraft to bring back Indians from the eastern European country.

The flight AI 1946, which took off from Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv at around 6 pm (Indian Standard Time), landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here at around 11.40 pm on Tuesday. Officials said there were around 240 passengers in the flight.

After landing at the airport from Ukraine, 22-year-old Anil Rapriya said, "I am feeling happy to back in my country". He is a fourth-year MBBS student at Kharkiv National Medical University (KNMU) in Kharkiv city. "I have just moved to India as Indian Embassy asked us to leave the country given the evolving situation in Ukraine," he told PTI over phone soon after landing.

His family lives in Nangloi in Delhi. Anil's brother, Manish Rapriya was waiting anxiously at T3 terminal's arrival lounge. "He went for his MBBS course in 2018. I spoke to him on phone after he landed at Delhi airport. We are glad that he's back, as the situation can change given the tensions between Russia and Ukraine," Manish said.

Earlier, the Air India plane had left the national capital at around 7.30 am and landed at the Kyiv airport at about 3 pm (IST).

In a tweet at about 9.46 pm, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said around 250 Indians and students belonging to various states are returning from Ukraine to Delhi tonight.

"More flights in the coming days to help Indians return," he said. According to a civil aviation ministry official, some other Indian operators are also expected to operate flights to Ukraine depending on the demand.

Air India, on February 19, announced that it would operate three flights between India and Ukraine on February 22, 24 and 26.

On Tuesday, Indian embassy in Kyiv again asked Indian students to temporarily leave the country amid the rising tensions. Russian President Putin on Monday signed decrees to recognise Ukraine's regions of 'Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics' as "independent", escalating the tension in the region and increasing fears of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.