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Sri Lanka operates special flight from Amritsar to airlift 101 students stranded in India
About 370 passengers, including 101 Lankan students, stranded here after the lockdown to check Covid-19 transmission, were airlifted by British Airways and SriLankan
About 370 passengers, including 101 Lankan students, stranded here after the lockdown to check Covid-19 transmission, were airlifted by British Airways and SriLankan Airlines on Thursday from Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport.
Manoj Chansoria, airport director, said a special SriLankan aircraft with 101 passengers took off from the airport at 11.15 am after all of them were screened by health department teams at the airport terminal.
British Airways, which has been carrying out regular evacuations, ferried 269 passengers in its sixth special flight.
According to media reports, SriLankan Airlines is also operating special flights from India’s Coimbatore, Pakistan’s Karachi and Lahore, and Nepal’s Kathmandu to bring home Sri Lankan students stranded in these countries.
These special flights are being operated as part of the Lankan government’s programme to bring back its students stranded in other countries and is being carried out in partnership with the Indian ministry of foreign affairs.
1,578 UK citizens airlifted
The number of passengers airlifted from Amritsar by special British Airways charter flights so far is about 1,578.
With Thursday’s flight, the number of passengers evacuated so far by the airlines is: 271 on April 16; 262 on April 17; 260 on April 18; 266 on April 19; 250 on April 21 and 269 on April 23.
As per previous announcement of British High Commission to India, two more flights are scheduled for April 25 and 27.
UK announces 8 more charter flights from Amritsar in view of long waiting list
In view of long waiting list of the UK citizens belonging to Punjab and surrounding areas, British government on Thursday evening announced eight more flights from Amritsar, revealed Jan Thompson, acting British high commissioner to India, in a tweet.
She said in the tweet, “Brits stranded in India: more UK charter flights as promised. A further 14 next week, including 8 from Amritsar in response to demand”.
As per the schedule she has announced, these flights will go on 28th, 29th and 30th April and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th May. Two flights will take off on 2nd May.
