20,000 more stranded citizens to return by next week

Aviation division issues new schedules of 79 flights to be operated by PIA and foreign airlines

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday issued a new schedule of special flights which would be operated until June 10 to bring back more than 20,000 Pakistanis who are stranded around the world because of coronavirus-induced restrictions on air travel.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf said that the government would further increase the number of inbound passengers per week through expediting the testing process for Covid-19 at the airports.

In a tweet, Yusuf said the government planned to repatriate 20,000 passengers by June 10, up from approximately 10,000 in the previous phase. “Passengers will be tested on arrival and sent home for self-isolation without having to wait for test results,” he added.

The federal government released the new flight schedule for next week, after changes in the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for international flight operations. Accordingly, 79 domestic and foreign flights would be operated till June 10.

According to the Aviation Division, the national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), would operate 52 flights to bring back 13,000 stranded Pakistanis, while 6,500 Pakistanis would be repatriated via foreign airlines.

The Aviation Division said 13 flights, carrying 4,500 passengers, would take off from Saudi Arabia and 34 flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would bring back 8,000 Pakistanis. Some 3,000 stranded Pakistanis would return via 12 flights from Qatar.

One flight each would come from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Malaysia and Iraq, Bahrain, Spain, Muscat, Thailand and Oman. In addition, three special flights would also be operated to take a total of 4,000 Pakistanis home.

The PIA said it would send a special flight to China to bring back stranded Pakistani students. It said PK-8872 would leave for central Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday, adding that the students would travel on a discounted fare on the direction of federal government.

According to the aviation division, after the change in the SOPs, the stranded Pakistanis would take medical and corona test at the airport instead of sending them to the quarantine centre. All passenger data would be collected and monitored through a tracking and tracing system.

If coronavirus symptoms appeared, they would be quarantined at home, it added. Dr Moeed Yusuf also said that the returning passengers would be added to the track and trace system, and the provincial governments would be able to follow up to ensure health and safety of passengers and the public.