Mangaluru: With the ministries of external affairs and civil aviation prioritising Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights, individuals and companies have taken the lead to repatriate Indians stranded in different parts of the world, including the Middle East, through chartered flights. Latest in this ongoing endeavour was the Qatar-Bengaluru flight flown by Karnataka Sangha Qatar (KSQ) in association with other Karnataka-related organisations in Qatar.

With guidance and cooperation from Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) under the aegis of Indian Embassy in Qatar, the chartered flight that landed on Monday had 180 passengers, including six infants. The second batch to have returned to Karnataka in a month had those who, among other issues, had to be evacuated due to lack of jobs, medical issues, low-living standards and temporary visas.