The first charter flight to evacuate Indians from Israel took off late on Thursday (October 12) evening from the Ben Gurion airport with 211 adults and an infant on board

The passengers were chosen on a “first come first serve” basis after the Indian embassy launched a drive for all Indians to register on the mission’s database. The government is bearing the cost of their return.

The flight took off at 10.14 pm Thursday Israel time (12.44 am Friday IST)

There was a festive mood among the returnees who raised chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Matram” on the flight

There was a long queue of Indians, including students, at the airport to board the special flight being operated under Operation Ajay from Tel Aviv

“We are thankful to India. Most of the students were a bit panicked. Suddenly, we saw the notification from the embassy of India, which boosted our morale,” Shubham Kumar, a student, told PTI.

The embassy has already announced a second flight for Friday and has sent out emails for registration to leave on a “first come first serve basis”.