Another batch of US nationals were airlifted from Hyderabad on Thursday by a special relief flight of Air India, operated from the city's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA). It took the stranded US nationals to Mumbai, from where they began their journey to their destinations in the US.
According to the GMR-led Airport, the special flight from Mumbai landed at 02.46 pm on Thursday. It departed with 101 US nationals to Mumbai at 3.52 pm. As per the flight itinerary, the passengers were airlifted by Delta Airlines from Mumbai to the US.
The passengers were serviced through the fully-sanitized main terminal building of the domestic departures, which was kept ready for evacuation operations. With the support and collaboration of the US consulate, Hyderabad and the Telangana government, the US citizens arrived at the airport from various parts of the city.
Special screening and safety measures were in place during the flight's handling as part of COVID-19 precautionary steps that included thermal screening, mandatory social distancing enforced through special queuing arrangements at all passenger processing points.
With this, the GMR Hyderabad International Airport has handled 11 evacuation flights, serving over 850 foreign nationals. They were repatriated by various special relief flights from Hyderabad to the countries like the UK, the UAE, the US and Germany.
After a drop in COVID-19 cases for the last few days, Telangana on Thursday saw a spurt in infections with 22 new cases and three deaths. Officials said three persons died of COVID-19 and co-morbidities. With the 22 new cases, the total tally of COVID-19 cases in Telangana rose to 1,038.
Due to sudden jump in number of positive cases on Thursday, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao alerted the Health Department. At a high level meeting, he directed the officials to contain the spread of virus in Greater Hyderabad.