The Kabul-bound Air India flight AI 243 took off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National airport on time on Sunday afternoon, but its arrival was delayed as ground reality in Afghanistan had changed dramatically in a few hours.
The Taliban, which is gradually taking over parts of the war-torn country, reached the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday. Air traffic control officials were not around to help the plane land, Hindustan Times reported.
Passengers went through an anxious time as the pilot had to switch off the plane’s radar to prevent it from being detected and targeted.
The flight, with a scheduled flying time of 2 hours and 20 minutes, had to hold in air for nearly an hour before finally getting clearance to land at Kabul airport, much to the relief of anxious passengers.
The return flight, AI 244, brought back 129 Indians from Kabul to Delhi on Sunday night.
Indian consulates in Afghanistan’s largest cities Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif have been handed over to local staff during the last four weeks and all Indians brought back via special flights.
