MANCHESTER: The United Kingdom (UK) government has decided to operate chartered flights to repatriate British citizens trapped in Pakistan due to the suspension of international flights following coronavirus pandemic, ARY News reported on Wednesday.
British High Commissioner Christian Turner announced that the UK government will commence a series of chartered flights from the next week to bring around 7,500 citizens back home.
Before the suspension of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) daily flights to the UK, 7,758 British citizens had been departed home through 22 flights during nine days since April 4, said Turner.
The high commissioner said that British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab agreed to operate a series of chartered flights to repatriate UK citizens from Pakistan. The British authorities will also settle the matters related to the repatriation process besides providing financial assistance to its citizens, he added.
Brits in 🇵🇰: update on flights to 🇬🇧 & plans for charters cc @ukinpakistan @foreignoffice @tariqahmadbt pic.twitter.com/0qx1zCyYLz
— Christian Turner (@CTurnerFCO) April 15, 2020
On April 9, Pakistan had extended its ban on all flight operations besides barring chartered and private planes till April 21 due to coronavirus pandemic.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had notified the extension for the closure of all kind of flight operations including domestic and international following the orders of the federal government.
