Bengaluru:Air India's fifth evacuation flight to Karnataka landed here from San Francisco in the US via New Delhi with 109 passengers, an official said on Friday.
"Air India Airbus A320-251N from San Francisco arrived here at 9.20 a.m., with 109 passengers via New Delhi," an official of the state-run national carrier told Reporters here.
The aircraft left the US west coast city on Thursday morning and landed in New Delhi's international airport early on Friday, where many returnees deboarded before it took off for Bengaluru.
The foreign returnees to the southern state were stranded for overseas for over 50 days due to the suspension of international air services by the government since March 23 and extended lockdown since March 25 to contain the coronavirus spread across the country.
The passengers were received by the state health department and the airline officials in the arrival terminal.
The returnees were given new masks to wear and sanitizer to wash their hands and told to maintain social distancing till they exit the airport.
"As per the standard operating procedure and protocols to be observed by all foreign returnees, the passengers were screened and tested to ensure they were asymptomatic and free from the Covid-19 virus," a state official told Media.
After completing the formalities, the passengers will be ferried in state-run chartered buses in batches for the mandatory 14-day quarantine in star hotels booked for them in the city.