India Sees Off First International Flight With Fully-Vaccinated Crew

Air crew associations have long demanded vaccination on priority for workers of the aviation sector.

From the first Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians from abroad amid a pandemic in May last year to the first fully vaccinated international flight flying out of India by Air India Express, it has been a long and uncertain journey for aviation crews but finally, the landing lights are in sight. The low-cost arm of India's flag carrier on Friday operated the country's first international flight with a fully COVID-19 vaccinated crew. Flight IX 191 flew took from Delhi at 10:40 am for Dubai with the pilots and all crew fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. "Captain DR Gupta and Captain Alok Kumar Nayak captained the flight with cabin crew members Venkat Kella, Praveen Chandra, Pravin Chougle and Manisha Kamble. The same crew operated the return flight IX 196, on Dubai-Jaipur- Delhi sector," the airline said. Captain Alok Kumar Nayak said, "This is the first international flight from India with fully and finally vaccinated crew on board. AI Express has operated more than 7,000 Vande Bharat missions. All flights have pre-flight and post-flight tests."