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AirAsia flies 169 Indian nationals back home from Indonesia
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AirAsia employees show off personal protective equipment that was made to protect its cabin crews. (Courtesy of AirAsia Philippines/File)
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ow-cost carrier AirAsia facilitated on Tuesday the repatriation of 169 Indian nationals who had found themselves stuck in Indonesia due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 outbreak.
For the repatriation, the airline worked together with the Indian Embassy in Jakarta and Indian community center Indonesia Tamil Sangam.
An unscheduled flight, QZ980, departed with all 169 Indian nationals from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. The flight landed safely at Tiruchirappali International Airport in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at 12:25 local time, AirAsia said in a statement.
Read also: COVID-19: 361 Indonesian Tablighi Jamaat members return home, others still stranded overseas
Indonesia Tamil Sangam representative Chandrasekaran Rajalingam said the repatriated individuals were Indian nationals who worked in Indonesia. “During the pandemic, the Indian government imposed a travel restriction, hindering us from returning to India.”
AirAsia Indonesia president director Veranita Yosephine Sinaga said the airline was proud of taking part in the social mission.
“During the pandemic, we have helped repatriate thousands of passengers stranded in various countries due to travel restrictions,” Veranita said in the statement.
She added she hoped the airline could later participate in similar social missions of repatriating people to their home country.
