Air India will send its two flights to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, on Friday night to bring home Indians stranded in Ukraine due to the invasion of Russia . Senior government officials gave this information. He said that any Indian nationals who have reached Ukraine-Romania border by road will be taken to Bucharest by Indian government officials so that they can be brought home through these two Air India flights.
On Thursday, Ukrainian authorities closed their country's airspace for the operation of passenger planes, so these flights are being operated from Bucharest to bring Indians home. Officials said that one Air India flight will leave from Delhi at around 9 pm on Friday, while the other flight will leave at around 10.25 pm. Officials said that both the Air India flights will leave for India from Bucharest on Saturday.
Indian Embassy in Ukraine determining routes from Romania and Hungary
The Indian embassy in Ukraine said on Friday that it is working on demarcating routes to and from Romania and Hungary. The embassy said, "Currently, the team of officers is reaching the Chop-Zahoni Hungarian border near Uzhorod, Porbne-Siret Romanian border posts near Chernivtsi. The embassy said that Indian nationals living close to these border check posts, especially students, are advised to leave in an orderly manner in coordination with the teams of the Ministry of External Affairs. Officials say about 20,000 Indians are currently stranded in Ukraine, mostly students.
The embassy has advised Indians to keep their passports, cash (primarily in dollars), other essentials and COVID vaccination certificates with them at border check posts. The embassy has said, "Take out the print (on paper) of the Indian flag and paste them on vehicles and buses during the journey. The distance between Ukraine's capital Kiev and Romania's border is about 600 km and it takes eight and a half to 11 hours to cover this distance by road.
Bucharest is about 500 kilometers from the Romanian border check post and takes about seven to nine hours to travel by road. At the same time, the distance between Kiev and the Hungarian border is about 820 km and it takes 12-13 hours to cover it by road.