Lucknow bound Vande Bharat flight with 136 Indians departs from Riyadh

An Air India special flight under Vande Bharat Mission with 136 Indians departed from Riyadh for Lucknow, an Indian city in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

"Air India AI 926 bound for Lucknow has departed from King Khalid Airport Riyadh with 136 passengers, including 1 infant onboard," Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia tweeted.

The Vande Bharat Mission has evacuated more than 50,000 stranded and distressed Indian citizens so far, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday.

India has launched the largest evacuation exercise -- Vande Bharat Mission -- to repatriate Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The exercise began on May 7 and its second phase started on May 16. The Ministry of External Affairs recently announced the second phase of the mission has been extended to June 13.

( With inputs from ANI )