After arranging transport facility through buses and food for thousands of stranded migrants, Sonu Sood has now airlifted 169 workers who were stuck in Kerala due to the coronavirus lockdown. He arranged a special chartered flight for women who had been left stranded in the state’s Ernakulam district, helping them return to their hometown Odisha. Of the 169, 148 women had been employed at a factory in Kochi, doing stitching and embroidery work. They didn’t have anywhere to go after the factory shut down due to restrictions imposed by the on-going lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Sonu Sood, who has already helped thousands of stranded migrant workers reach their hometowns in buses, arranged a special aircraft for the stranded women after getting to know about their plight from a close friend in Bhubaneswar.
He started the mission by obtaining necessary permits from the government to have the Kochi and Bhubaneswar airports opened. A special aircraft was called from Bengaluru to airlift the stranded people, who were then flown to Bhubaneswar in a two-hour journey to be reunited with their loved ones.