PETALING JAYA: 40 Malaysians were finally flown home yesterday after being stranded in Kerala, India for the past two months during that country’s lockdown.
Petra Group and Vinod Sekhar Trust (VST) jointly sponsored a special charter flight operated by Malindo Air to ferry the helpless Malaysians from the city of Kochi.
The flight left Kochi International Airport at 11.10am Sunday, and arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 6.10pm yesterday.
VST chairperson Datin Dr Winy Sekhar, said the humanitarian endeavour was in line with the virtues of both her organisation and the Petra Group.
“My husband is a social capitalist. He believes that we all have to play a role, when and if we can, to lift others up.
“62 days into the lockdown, many Malaysians are still stranded in India.
“We have to lift their spirits as much as possible by bringing them back to their loved ones, and to Malaysia, their home,” she said.
Winy added that VST was grateful and delighted that Malindo Air was able to respond and organise the charter flight under short notice.
Meanwhile, Malindo Air chief executive officer Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri said this was their 15th humanitarian flight from India during the lockdown, returning a total of 2,000 Malaysians.
