Evacuation gets wings as fear lingers

5,000 Indians finally fly home, 650 still stranded

- YARUQHULLAH KHAN

AS AIRSPACES REOPENED partially over the Gulf on Tuesday, thousands of Indian travellers stranded in West Asia began returning home after a three-day suspension of air traffic triggered by joint US-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks.

Yet, several hundred Indians remain marooned in Kuwait, where the airspace continues to be shut amid fears of further escalation.

About 70 flights operated between cities in West Asia and India on March 3, bringing home around 5,000 citizens, senior government officials said. Of the 70 total flights that operated on March 3, domestic carriers operated 24 planes while Emirates, Etihad and Oman Air operated 16 jets each in the last 24 hours, and the rest were chartered flights.