The 51 Indians stranded in Iraq after their March 4 Air India flight back home was cancelled, finally returned to India on Friday morning. mid-day had reported on their plight in a foreign land on Wednesday, following which the airline arranged for all the passengers to fly home in Qatar Airlines.

The group of 51 people, of which 30 were from Mumbai, had flown to Iraq on February 22 to visit the Karbala mosque. However, their return flight to India was cancelled at the eleventh hour by Air India, leaving them in a lurch in Iraq. Left with limited money, the group had also staged a protest in front of the airline office in Iraq on Wednesday.