India is in the midst of a huge rescue effort to repatriate tens of thousands of citizens stranded in Ukraine or neighboring countries. Commercial airline planes are used, as well as Indian Air Force military planes.
Immediately after the start of the war in Ukraine, India focused on the repatriation of more than 14 Indians, most of whom were medical students. This operation was called "Operation Ganga", on which occasion the aviation industry came together to support this large-scale action. All major domestic airlines and the Air Force operate flights from Eastern Europe to bring home those who fled Ukraine.
According to some estimates, Ukraine was home to about 20 Indians, most of them young students. When the war broke out, about 000 were in Ukraine and are now blocked due to the closure of airspace. This led India to find the nearest border with a neighboring country and send planes to bring them home from there. In reality, the number of Indians in Ukraine is much higher
As of today, March 6, an estimated 16 Indians have already been evacuated from Romania, Poland and Hungary. Starting with February 000, dozens of flights were operated, including from Romania, from the airports in Suceava, Iasi and Bucharest. The flights were operated with aircraft from the Airbus A26 a and Boeing 320 family of indiGo, Spicejet, Air India Express, but also with 737 Dreamliner Air India. The Indian Air Force used C-787 Globemasters and Ilyushin Il-17 aircraft.
The operation will continue in the following days, until the evacuation of the last existing Indian in Ukraine or in one of the neighboring countries. Unfortunately, due to the war, many Indian citizens are still held captive in Ukraine.