Air India Express on Friday operated the country's first international flight with a fully COVID-19 vaccinated crew. Flight IX, 191 operated from Delhi to Dubai with the pilots and all crew fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. "Air India Express, India's leading budget carrier, operated the first international flight from the country with fully vaccinated crew on June 18 on Delhi - Dubai sector. The pilots and the cabin crew of IX 191, which took off from Delhi at 10:40 am, had received both doses of their COVID-19 vaccine," said an official release by the airline.
"Captain D R Gupta and Captain Alok Kumar Nayak captained the flight with cabin crew members Venkat Kella, Praveen Chandra, Pravin Chougle and Manisha Kamble. The same crew operated the return flight IX 196, on Dubai- Jaipur- Delhi sector," it added.The airline said that they have vaccinated almost all eligible crew members and frontline staff not only to ensure their safety and health but also to make their passengers feel safe and reassured as they fly with them."As we operate the country's first international flight with a fully-vaccinated crew, it may be recalled that it was Air India Express that operated India`s first-ever Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flight that touched down Indian soil on May 7 carrying passengers from Abu Dhabi.We are happy that now our teams are shielded with the protection of the vaccines" the airline added.The airline has been part of the Vande Bharat Mission, the largest civilian evacuation exercise in the world undertaken by the Government of India in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak last year.