New Delhi

Air India will operate two flights from Delhi to Bucharest (Romania) and Budapest (Hungary) on Saturday to evacuate Indian nationals who have been asked to move to these two cities from Ukraine.

"Based upon inputs from the Ministry of External Affairs on the emerging situation in Ukraine, Air India will operate two flights from Delhi to Bucharest (Romania) and Budapest (Hungary) tomorrow, that is, February 26. Air India shall be operating VBM flights," Air India said late Friday.

Many Indian nationals, including students, have made their way into these countries which share borders with Ukraine.

Air India will deploy Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft which have a capacity of 254 passengers per plane.

Earlier, Air India was operating direct special flights to Kiyv but it had to stop these operations after Ukraine closed its airspace.

On Thursday, an Air India flight bound for Kiyv from New Delhi returned midair after the closure of the Ukrainian airspace.

On Tuesday, the airline had carried out the first of its special flight operations ferrying Indian citizens from Ukraine.

Apart from Air India, other Indian operators were expected to start special flight services to Ukraine.

Last week, the Centre removed the restrictions on the number of flights and seats between India and Ukraine, evidently to facilitate the return of Indian students and professionals stranded in the east European nation due to the ongoing tensions with Russia.