Passengers Returning From Ukraine To India Can Travel Via Qatar: Govt

Doha: As people stranded in Ukraine are getting desperate to return home, the Indian government is trying to work out alternative routes after the eastern European country closed its airspace in the wake of Russian invasion.

India’s embassy in Qatar informed on Thursday that passengers from Ukraine can travel to India via Doha, citing information received from Union Civil Aviation ministry. This is as per India’s bilateral air bubble agreement with Qatar.

“Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed passengers traveling from Ukraine to travel by transit under India-Qatar bilateral air bubble arrangement,” India in Qatar stated on Twitter.

This arrangement, however, will come into effect after Ukraine reopens its airspace.

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Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said special flights to and from Ukraine will resume once Kyiv reopens its airspace.

“Flights were flown to Ukraine earlier. Today also flights were flown but after three hours, once things started escalating, those flights returned. Whenever the airspace opens, we’ll fly again,” ANI quoted Scindia as saying.

Air India, which operated a special flight two days ago, had scheduled more flights to evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine. But that operation has hit a pause button temporarily.

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