City
Epaper

Air India likely to ply evacuation flight to Wuhan on Jan 31: Sources

By IANS | Updated: January 28, 2020 22:10 IST

Air India is likely to operate a flight service to Wuhan in Central China to evacuate Ind stuck in the city due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, sources said on Tuesday.

Open in App

However, when contacted, the airline's CMD Ashwani Lohani said that the airline is prepared to operate the flight, but did not divulge the date of commencing the service.

The airline is expected to operate a flight using Boeing 747.

Earlier, India's civil aviation regulator DGCA gave its clearance to the airline to operate the Mumbai-Delhi-Wuhan flight.

Highly=placed sources said that Civil Aviation Secretary P.S. Kharola had back-to-back consultation here on Tuesday with Air India officials about operating the special flight.

According to sources, the major worry with regards to evacuating Ind from Wuhan and other affected areas is about screening the people boarding the flight.

Moreover, the passengers have to be constantly monitored during the flight and have to be quarantined after reaching Delhi.

"Do we have the required infrastructure to deal with this? The aircraft, crew and the passengers from Wuhan have to be isolated and only after ruling out infection they are to be allowed to leave," a source said.

He added that it is a complicated issue as India cannot shrug off its responsibility.

"So, infected or not infected, they have to be brought back," the source said.

The new virus, which is of the same genre as SARS which broke out in 2003, was first reported in the WHO Disease Outbreak news on January 5, 2020. It has progressively spread across many countries from its epicentre in Wuhan.

In a bid to curb the spread of the virus, Chinese authorities have closed transportation services across many parts of the country, including Wuhan.

The new virus has spread at a much faster pace than the 2003 SARS epidemic.

Wuhan is the hub of transport and industry in central China.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: WuhanindiadelhiAshwani Lohaniboeing
Open in App

Related Stories

NationalDelhi Shocker: Man Stabbed to Death Near Shastri Park, Police Launch Probe

NationalDense Fog in Northern India May Affect Flights at Selected Airports, Passengers Advised to Stay Updated

NationalDense Fog in Delhi Forces Diversion of Goa–Delhi Air India Express Flight to Ahmedabad

NationalNoida: Minor Loses Control of Rented Thar After Seeing Family Member; Two Injured (Watch Video)

CricketWhen Will Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma Play Next in Vijay Hazare Troph 2025–26 Match?

कारोबार Realted Stories

BusinessTN allocates Rs 248.44 cr for Pongal gift hampers; decision on cash component awaited

BusinessFrom Captain to K-Kick: Kerala’s accidental comedy festival in a brandy bottle

BusinessPRAGATI changed governance culture, sped up Rs 85 lakh crore projects: PM Modi

BusinessHow rural women in Chhattisgarh’s Sarkada achieved financial independence

BusinessIGL cuts cooking gas price in Delhi-NCR