Hyderabad, April 17 As many as 136 British nationals stranded in Hyderabad were Friday airlifted by a special flight of British Airways.
The special relief flight landed at Hyderabad International Airport 04.59 p.m. from Bahrain and departed at 06:46 p.m. with 136 British nationals to Ahmedabad, from where few more British nationals were to be airlifted to Bahrain and then onwards to London.
The airport officials said all the passengers were serviced through the fully-sanitized Interim International Departures Terminal (IIDT) of GMR Hyderabad International Airport, which has been kept ready for evacuation operations.
In coordination with the British Deputy High Commission Hyderabad and the Telangana state government, the UK-bound passengers began arriving at the airport from 3.30 p.m. from various parts of Hyderabad.
"Today, we have partnered with the British Deputy High Commission in Hyderabad and the government of Telangana to support the operation of a special flight to evacuate UK citizens stranded in this region," said ASGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL).
"I am pleased to see over 130 British nationals and their close dependents from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on their way back home this evening. We are extremely grateful for the support provided by both state governments and police departments, British Airways, staff at the Hyderabad airport for their fantastic support in making today's operation possible. I am delighted we've so far been able to help more than 4,000 British travellers return home from across India," said Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Till April 17, Hyderabad International Airport has served over 600 foreign nationals who were repatriated by various special relief flights from Hyderabad to countries like Britain, the US and Germany.
The airport's cargo terminal is also fully operational to keep the vital link of essential supplies completely alive.
( With inputs from IANS )