![]() With more inbound flights scheduled to arrive in hours, operations were moved from Dulles West and NOVA to the Dulles Expo Center. A volunteer from HHS administers a COVID-19 vaccine to an arriving evacuee at the Dulles Expo Center, Aug. A Department of State employee (left) assists Afghans onto a transport shuttle outside IAD, Aug. From left: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials administer nasal swab Covid-19 tests to arriving Afghans at Dulles international Airport (IAD), Aug. As additional Afghans arrived, the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) in Annandale was used as a temporary shelter while the Afghans waited for buses or flights to their onward safe havens. As the first plane arrived, buses of exhausted families initially were received at an empty office building called Dulles West, which had been transformed into a short-term shelter with 300 green cots and food supplied by the Red Cross. The plan was simple: once evacuees cleared Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and tested negative for COVID-19, those receiving humanitarian parole would be sent to safe havens on eight military bases to complete their processing. 11, a total of 45,521 Afghans passed through the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va. Most of those planes then landed at Dulles International Airport, and from the early morning hours of Aug. After the planes departed Kabul, many landed on military bases around the world-referred to as lily pads-before departing again for the United States. Soldiers and diplomats worked tirelessly to fill planes and evacuate as many Americans, colleagues, and allies as possible. The world watched as more than 120,000 people were airlifted from Afghanistan in August 2021. 1, Ambassador Laura Dogu (fourth from left), the director of CONUS Afghanistan Task Force (ATF) operations, looks on as a Department volunteer (right) assists a young evacuee. Air India flight crew were among the attendees.While leading a tour of the Dulles Expo Center with a delegation of Virginia General Assembly members, Sept. Pleased to see the Nrityaki students performing Kathak and Bollywood dance with equal élan, she said, “Diwali celebration is a fantastic initiative promoting our culture in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. Sneha Mishra, the winner of the 2019 Miss India DC pageant, happened to be present at the airport during the celebration. She described the celebration as a matter of great pride and making a part of history. The performances – classical and Bollywood – were choreographed by Kathak exponent Shweta Mishra, the founder of Nrityaki Dance Academy. The students of Nrityaki Dance Academy, Virginia enthralled the onlookers, travelers, airport personnel and Air India passengers with their dance performances making the celebration a riveting glimpse of what Indian culture is meant. Freebie international chargers were also distributed. Everyone present at the airport that moment was greeted ‘Happy Diwali’ and given a packet of cookies. With traditional dance performances and henna art demonstration, the celebration was as diverse as the rich Indian culture. Washington Dulles Airport’s Diwali 2019 celebration was at its cultural best. Evidently, Washington Dulles Airport was the first choice for Diwali celebration at a major US airport. Besides, it is one of the sources of nonstop Air India flights to India. Located in Fairfax and Loudoun counties of Virginia, Dulles Airport (IAD) caters to thousands of Indians from the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and does have good air connectivity with New Delhi. The credit goes to Akanksha Sharma, marketing associate for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, for the initiative. While the Times Square Diwali in New York is the most spectacular one and the White House Diwali is the most talked about one, the Washington Dulles Airport Diwali has scripted a new history by being the first of its kind at a leading US airport. President Trump’s lighting of the ceremonial lamp in the White House and his message about the administration’s commitment to protect religious liberty in the US was followed by a Diwali-special cultural extravaganza at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD). Starting from the White House and Swaminarayan temples, the festival of lights traveled to Washington Dulles International Airport, the national capital region’s gateway to the world, in a historic first this year. The celebration of Diwali in the United States is grander this year than the previous years.
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