File photo: Silchar Airport

An AirAsia special flight, arranged by Bollywood actor Sonu Sood, reached Silchar airport with 180 passengers from Mumbai on June 9.

An official at Silchar airport said the flight reached Silchar around 12:10 pm on June 9 with 180 passengers, who were from different parts of Barak Valley. Some people were also from Hojai.

Necessary arrangements at the airport were provided by Air India and SpiceJet staff, he said.

The passengers were segregated at the airport as per their native places.

Swab samples of the passengers of Silchar were taken at the airport, while the passengers of Hailakandi and Karimganj districts were sent to their respective districts where their swab samples will be collected.

Sources said around 70 passengers of Barak Valley (from among those who came today) were staying near a bridge adjacent to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai because of lockdown. Recently, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood reached out to the stranded people after which the people told him that there were many others like them, who were stranded in Mumbai because of lockdown.

Eventually, Sood contacted AirAsia authorities to arrange the flight. However, there were some hiccups as AirAsia does not operate in Barak Valley.

The actor, thereafter, contacted SpiceJet authorities following which the matter was resolved and the people could come to their native places, sources said.

The passengers expressed their thankfulness to Sood for helping them in these troubled times, a source in the airport said.

Speaking to news agency UNI, Sood said he had helped the people purely out of love. He said he would definitely visit Assam someday.

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Avatar photo
About TNM NewsDesk

-

The News Mill is a Guwahati-based digital media with focus on content from across Northeast India and beyond. We can be reached through [email protected]