TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A charter flight has been scheduled to evacuate approximately 200 Taiwanese citizens from India on May 4, as the South Asian nation announced an extension of its national lockdown due to the worsening pandemic.

After much negotiation, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has reached an agreement with the Indian government to send out a China Airlines aircraft to the Indian capital, New Delhi, and pick up Taiwanese stranded in the country. According to Taiwan's representative office in India, 295 Taiwanese have expressed a desire to board the charter plane, while 143 of them have already confirmed their status with MOFA.

The stranded Taiwanese are expected to meet at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4 p.m. on May 4 before departing several hours later. The price of travel for each individual will be determined by the final number of passengers aboard the charter flight.

During the daily press conference Sunday afternoon, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Deputy Commander Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) said that the returning Taiwanese have been asked to report their health status and will undergo screening before being allowed to board the aircraft. He added that the evacuees will all be quarantined upon arrival in Taiwan.

Chen pointed out that many Taiwanese have actually changed their minds about taking the charter flight, as travelling to New Delhi has become more difficult in the midst of India's nationwide lockdown. He explained that making stops at different airports is unlikely at the moment, since it would significantly delay matters to receive approval for extended landing permissions, reported New Talk.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also expressed his gratitude to China Airlines on Facebook. He said that the island country's national air carrier has so far transported more than 1,000 Taiwanese from the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Shanghai as well as from the Japanese Princess Diamond cruise, reported UDN.