The airlines have readied the aircraft type and taken care of all other logistical aspects to embark on this mission. National carrier Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express are all set to embark upon one of the world's largest evacuation operations on Thursday.
Accordingly, the two airlines will at different time slots operate the first 'special ferry' flights from New Delhi, Cochin and Kozhikode to Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively.
These flights under India's massive 'Vande Bharat Mission' are being organised to bring back stranded Indians from abroad. The two airlines following the laid down Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) which were released on Tuesday have tested their pilots and crews for COVID-19.