934 Indians land at Mumbai airport, quarantined in hotels

Around 934 Indians who were stranded in various countries including the USA, UK, Singapore, Philippines, and Bangladesh, have landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji

Around 934 Indians who were stranded in various countries including the USA, UK, Singapore, Philippines, and Bangladesh, have landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in the past two days, as part of the Central government’s Vande Bharat mission.

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These passengers were stranded due to travel restrictions imposed following the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, 319 more passengers are expected to land in Mumbai on Tuesday at 12.15am from Newark in the US via an Air India flight.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, none of the screened passengers have been admitted to hospitals, but are being quarantined in 88 hotels across the city, as per the passenger’s budget. Passengers from other cities or districts are being transported to their hometowns via ST buses.

A BMC official said, “Considering all passengers are screened at their respective international destinations before boarding the flights, we have not found any passenger with symptoms.”

P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner, said, “We are sending all those from Mumbai to hotels for institutional quarantine, and those who will report symptoms at the airport will be sent to isolation wards in hospitals. Those who belong to other cities or districts are sent to their respective districts via ST buses by the collector’s office, after arranging travel permissions.”

On Monday, three Air India flights landed in the city from Manila (150 passengers); San Francisco (105 passengers); Dhaka (107 passengers). Around 120 other passengers on the flight from San Francisco were flown to Hyderabad. On Sunday, two Air India flights landed from London (329 passengers), and Singapore (243 passengers).

Of the total passengers who landed in Mumbai, 65 have been sent to Pune; 16 to Amravati, Beed, Akola, Aurangabad, Gondia, Goa, and Ahmednagar, on Sunday.

On Monday, around 107 passengers were sent via ST buses to Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Solapur, Sangli, Washim, Kolhapur, Satara, Parbhani, Jalna, Raigad, Latur, Akola, and Palghar.

All passengers were also asked to download the Aarogya Setu mobile application once they landed at Mumbai airport.