ISLAMABAD: Over 250 Pakistani students stranded in China’s Wuhan province owing to coronavirus pandemic and suspension of flight operations returned to homeland via a special flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday, ARY News reported.
Sources said that a special flight of the national flag carrier brought the stranded countrymen from Wuhan to Islamabad International Airport tonight.
Officials of CAA shifted all the passengers to a quarantine facility established at a local hotel for screening and testing them for the COVID-19. Earlier, the special flight and the passengers’ luggage were disinfected upon arrival at the airport.
On the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari thanked PM Imran Khan and other concerned departments for helping in repatriating the countrymen from abroad.
The journey for 🇵🇰i students from #WuhanToPakistan has been a long one.
Thankyou to PM @ImranKhanPTI & every1 who helped us get our ppl back home today on a special PIA flt.Most of all I’m grateful to all parents& students for understanding the hurdles & being our biggest support— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) May 18, 2020
Read More: Govt offers subsidized air tickets to Pakistani students in Wuhan
On May 15, as a special gesture for Pakistani students in Wuhan for their patience during coronavirus outbreak in the city, the government had offered subsidized air tickets at Rs50,000 for a special repatriation flight on 18th of May.
Talking to a delegation of parents of the Pakistani students stranded in China’s Wuhan province, who called on him Islamabad today, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari had said that his ministry in collaboration with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs had devised plan to repatriate the stranded students from Wuhan.