The first repatriation Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Cochin International Airport here on Thursday evening.
Taking to Twitter, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the 181 passengers have landed at the airport.
"First flight of #VandeBharatMission has landed at Kochi with 181 passengers. A moment to cherish the leadership of @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji & @DrSJaishankar ji which made this complex mission possible. Kudos to #TeamMEA & sister ministries for their tireless efforts!" Muraleedharan tweeted.
India on Monday announced that beginning May 7, it will begin phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad.
The government said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
Starting from 7 May, 64 flights will take off for 12 countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Singapore and the US.
( With inputs from ANI )