Centre allows Air Asia to fly over 200 stranded Indians out of Malaysia

Taking into account the plight of over 200 Indians stuck at the Kuala Lumpur airport, the Union government allowed Air Asia to fly them to India. Earlier, on Monday (March 16), the Indian government had banned the entry of flights from Malaysia due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The Indian flyers, stuck in transition, were supposed to take a connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur.

However, the Air Asia flights have been approved for only for New Delhi and Vizag.

Tweeting about the same External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, “Appreciate the difficult situation of Indian students and other passengers waiting in transit at Kuala Lumpur airport. We have now approved Air Asia flights for you to Delhi and Vizag.”

“These are tough times and you should understand the precautions. Please contact the airline,” he said.

AirAsia spokesperson, in a statement, said, “AirAsia informs that it is working closely with the Indian High Commission to arrange flights to New Delhi and Visakhapatnam from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. This will enable passengers in transit to reach India.”

The stranded Indians, mostly students were on their way back from the Philippines after president Rodrigo Duterte announced that foreigners who want to leave the country should do so in the next 72 hours.

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The government, on Monday, had also banned the entry of passengers from EU countries, Turkey and the UK from March 18 to March 31. It also closed its doors to those from Afghanistan, the Philippines and Malaysia with immediate effect, according to an additional travel advisory.

(With inputs from agencies.)