Operation Sukoon: AI to bring back more Indians

NEW DELHI: Air India will operate two more special flights to the Cypriot capital of Larnaca on Monday to bring back hundreds of Indian nationals stranded in trouble-torn Lebanon.

Two Boeing 747-400s, with a total capacity of 840, will fly from Mumbai to Larnaca Monday morning to airlift Indians brought out from Lebanon to Cyprus in Indian Navy ships as part of one of the country's largest civilian evacuation operations overseas -- Operation Sukoon.

The first flight will take off at 0800 hrs while the second jet will fly to the Cypriot capital at 1000 hrs and both aircraft will return the same day, an Air India spokesman said.

Asked whether the flights will fly back to Mumbai or other destinations, he said it would depend on requirements.

"If there is a plane-load of people belonging to a particular state or region, they could be flown directly to that destination," he said.

The spokesman said the timing of the return of the flights will depend on the arrival of the Indians from Lebanon in Larnaca.

The first batch of 602 people reached India on Saturday after two Air India flights airlifted them to Mumbai and Chennai. While 341 landed in Chennai, 261 flew to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the warships INS Mumbai and INS Brahmaputra, which were moved to the Mediterranean Sea off the Lebanese coast, on Sunday entered Beirut harbour to evacuate the second batch of stranded Indians.