Union Minister Piyush Goyal welcomed the first batch of Indian passengers, mostly students evacuated from Ukraine at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday.

The first evacuation flight of Air India, AIC 1944 landed at the Mumbai Airport at around 7.50 pm. The aircraft, which had taken off from the Henri Coanda International Airport in Bucharest this afternoon, brought home 219 passengers, mostly students from India.

Goyal expressed his happiness on the return of the first batch of stranded students and said that more evacuation flights are being operated and the second flight is likely to land in Delhi in the wee hours of Sunday.

Relatives of the arriving passengers waited at the airport to welcome their dear ones.

Meanwhile, another batch of Indian students entered Hungary from the Ukranian side at Zahony-Uzhhorod border crossing, travelling onward to Budapest for return to India by Air India flight on Saturday.