AI special flight to airlift 400 Indians from Wuhan

An Air India special flight departing from Delhi on Friday will evacuate around 400 Indians trapped in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, the national carrier's Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said.

Speaking to ANI, Lohani said that the Boeing 747 Jumbo aircraft will take off at 12 pm from Delhi today and will return by 2 am on Saturday.

"We are sending a Boeing 747 Jumbo aircraft. Around 400 Indians will be evacuated today from Wuhan in China by Air India flight. It will take off at 12 pm today and will return by 2 am tomorrow," Lohani said.

An Air India special flight will depart on Friday from Delhi to the Chinese city of Wuhan for the evacuation of Indians trapped in the region amid coronavirus outbreak, the national carrier's spokesperson said.

The flight will include all necessary resources like masks, medical equipment, packed food, prescribed medicines, along with a team of five doctors from the Health Ministry, and paramedical personnel from Air India.

Twenty crew members, including 15 cabin crew and five cockpit crew will be on board. The flight, which is led by Air India's Director of Operations Captain Amitabh Singh, will return to New Delhi tomorrow (Saturday).

The development comes three days after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approved the Air India flight to Wuhan — a Chinese city of more than 11 million people which has been the epicenter of the new strain of coronavirus.

China has imposed a lockdown in the city following the outbreak of the virus.

Coronavirus has claimed the lives of as many as 213 people in China alone, while cases have been reported in several countries across the world. Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic as the virus continues to spread, with cases reported in Australia, France, the US, and several Asian countries besides China.