140 Indians, including 60 Telugus, stuck in Bahrain airlifted to Kochi

HYDERABAD

As many as 60 Telugu tourists from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh stranded in Bahrain since February 28 have been airlifted from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) to Kochi on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

A special flight operated by Gulf Air left Dammam airport at 9.30 local time and arrived at Kochi International Airport at 4.50 am.

“Thanks to the initiative of the Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ramamohan Naidu, a special flight was arranged by Gulf Air. The Telugu expats in Manama (Bahrain)coordinated and ensured that we all were evacuated from Manama and driver to Dammam,” Mr. Goneh Solomon Raj, a tourist from Hyderabad, who reached out to the Indian Government soon after the war broke out told The Hindu this morning after arriving in Kochi.

The special flight had 140 passengers from different parts of the country, he said adding that more people, who are stuck in Manama and other parts of Bahrain were being evacuated in phased manner. He said many of the Telugu-speaking tourists hailed from places like Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Suryapet and several towns of Andhra Pradesh.

“We are grateful to the Indian Government officials and even two days ago an Officer on Special Duty in the Defence Minister’s office contacted us as they continuously coordinated with the stranded tourists and repeatedly reassured them that they would be safely moved to Dammam for onward journey,” Mr. Solomon Raj added.

Other tourists said the last three days were really frightening as the intensity of attacks by Iran on Bahrain had gone up. “We were really scared about our safety as the missiles started landing in residential areas and on two hotels also,” a tourist from Hyderabad, who did not want to be identified remarked.

What should have been a memorable holiday for several tourists to Bahrain in the last week of February turned into a nightmare as the US-Israel attack on Iran completely shut the air space in West Asia. Thousands of Indians were stranded in the Gulf countries with flights coming to a grinding halt.

Mr. Solomon Raj said they had made their own arrangements for onward journey to Hyderabad. “Eighteen people are now travelling to Hyderabad in different airlines to reach their respective destinations,” he said.

Interestingly, the Embassy of India in Bahrain put out an advisory on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) saying the Embassy is not connected with arrangements by business groups of transport arrangements to neighbouring countries from Bahrain by private parties.