New Delhi, November 2: The future Vande Bharat flights to China may get affected, as 19 Indians who were onboard the flight that landed in Wuhan on Friday tested COVID-19 positive. Another 39 passengers were found to be "potentially asymptomatic", with coronavirus antibodies found in their samples. Supreme Court Asks Govt to Explore Some Solution to Bring Back 30,000 Indians Stranded in Kuwait.

The 58 passengers, including 19 who tested positive along with 39 found asymptomatic, were shifted to institutional quarantine centres. The flight, in total, was loaded with 277 passengers. The remainder would remain under self-isolation at their designated hotels -- as per the norms in place for outsiders arriving in China.

The flight that landed in Wuhan on Friday was sixth Air India flight under the Vande Bharat Mission which went to China. The normal air operations between India and China were suspended since March this year, after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic.

With the coronavirus threat subsiding, and Beijing gradually allowing the return of foreigners who worked or studied in the nation, over 2,000 Indians had reportedly applied for travelling to China. Nearly 1,500 among them are awaiting for their confirmation under the Vande Bharat Mission, HT reported.

The positive cases found on the Wuhan flight may lead to delay in the next set of flights, the report claimed. The next plane to China under the special mission was scheduled to be sent later this month.

Globally, the air travel industry is bracing for another severe blow as several countries have been hit by a second wave of the pandemic. This has forced governments to impose another clampdown on air travel in a bid to prevent spread of infections through arriving passengers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 02, 2020 07:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).