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Amid lockdown, Air India evacuates 96 stranded Americans from Dehradun to Delhi
The Americans were stranded amid teh lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus.
Ninety-six American citizens who were stranded in Uttarakhand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were flown out of Dehradun’s Jolly Grant airport to Delhi in a special Air India flight Monday evening, airport officials said.
DK Gautam, director Jolly Grant Dehradun said the special Air India aircraft had arrived in Dehradun to fly the Americans out of the state to Delhi.
“The flight had arrived at 6:20 pm in the evening and departed safely with all the 96 Americans at 7:07 pm from the airport,” said Gautam.
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The airport director said the airport staff took “all the required measures including health check-up of the passengers by state health department staffers. The airport management had to operate the airport beyond the notified timings especially for this flight.”
According to the state police, there are around 300 to 400 foreigners still stranded in the state with maximum in Rishikesh, Nainital and Almora due to the lockdown. So far about 700 foreigners had left the state with arrangements being made by their respective embassies.
“All the foreigners stranded are in quarantine. We are allowing them to leave as per the arrangements made by their embassies in the country. We are fully co-operating with their authorities,” said Ashok Kumar, director general (law & order), Uttarakhand police.
