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The Indian journalists stranded in hurricane-hit Barbados while covering the T20 World Cup 2024 are set to depart on Wednesday. BCCI secretary Jay Shah has extended support by offering them seats on a special chartered flight from Barbados to Delhi, alongside the Indian team.
Dubbed AIC24WC (Air India Champions 24 World Cup), the Air India special charter flight will transport not only the Indian squad and its support staff but also players’ families, board officials, and the stranded Indian media who have been marooned on the island due to Hurricane Beryl for the past three days.
According to the current plan, the flight is set to depart from Barbados at 4:30 am local time (2 PM IST). The journey to Delhi is expected to take approximately 16 hours, with the team scheduled to arrive at 6 am IST on Thursday, provided there are no additional delays.
Operations at Grantley Adams International Airport resumed on Tuesday. Initially, the Indian team was slated to depart at 6 pm local time on July 2 and arrive in Delhi at 7:45 pm IST on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma’s team secured the championship with a dramatic seven-run victory over South Africa in the final on Saturday. Plans are underway for the players to receive felicitations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although the exact timing of the event has yet to be confirmed.
Hurricane Beryl, now downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm, is currently tracking towards Jamaica.
