A decisive phase in India's fight against coronavirus began on Tuesday as the first consignment of Covishield vaccines left for Delhi

Pune: A decisive phase in India's fight against coronavirus began on Tuesday as the first consignment of Covishield vaccines left for Delhi, four days ahead of the nationwide inoculation drive launch.

Four airlines are operating nine flights to transport 56.5 lakh doses of the vaccine from Pune to 13 cities across the country on Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

Today @airindiain @flyspicejet @goairlinesindia & @IndiGo6E will operate 9 flights from Pune with 56.5 lakh doses to Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow & Chandigarh.

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) January 12, 2021

The first two flights, operated by SpiceJet and GoAir to Delhi and Chennai, took off from Pune in the morning and the other flights followed shortly.

"Today @airindiain @flyspicejet @goairlinesindia & @IndiGo6E will operate 9 flights from Pune with 56.5 lakh doses to Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow & Chandigarh," Puri said on Twitter.

Covid-19 vaccine

A SpiceJet flight carrying the vaccines left Pune for Delhi around 8 am, three hours after three trucks with the maiden consignment of the vaccines rolled out of the Serum Institute of India facility, 15 km from the airport.

The Central government on Monday placed firm orders in advanced commitments for over six crore doses of vaccines from Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech for inoculating three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive beginning January 16.