UK set to start repatriation flights from India, Nepal next week

REPATRIATION flights for UK nationals stranded in India will start next week.

The acting British High Commissioner in New Delhi, Jan Thompson, said: “Special charter flights from India to the UK organised by the British government will start next week. We are still in the process of finalising details with the Indian government and airlines.

“Next week is just the start. We will not be able to get everyone home immediately so please bear with us.”

Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had announced a £75-million plan to bring back UK citizens stranded abroad. India operations had been a top priority.

The British envoy in Kathmandu, Nicola Pollitt, also confirmed repatriation operations from next week.

The UK government had been pilloried for not organising evacuation flights, especially with reports noting that Germany had “rescued 30 times as many people as the UK since global travel restrictions started three weeks ago”.

As Pakistan tightened its travel curbs, stranded passengers complained of the limited commercial air tickets being sold at about £1,000 per seat.

“How are families with four up to 10 family members able to afford tickets that are being sold for £800+. These do not sound like repatriation flights,” said Tabassum Niamat of Glasgow, who set up a ‘Brits Stranded in Pakistan’ Facebook page that has over 1,000 members.

Meanwhile, the UK mission in Sri Lanka updated Britons in the country about daily Qatar Airways flights.

By Saturday (4) morning, the global number of Covid-19 cases climbed to 1,100,283, with at least 58,929 deaths.