DUBAI: Kuwait and Jazeera Airways have announced dozens of special flights to repatriate citizens who were stranded overseas when the coronavirus outbreak forced international borders to shut, state-run Kuwait News Agency reported.
There were 27 repatriation flights operated on Sunday to cities including Riyadh, Manama, and Abu Dhabi to bring back Kuwaiti nationals.
Jazeera Airways said it had allocated 14 of its airplanes to the Kuwaiti government to utilize during the pandemic, including for repatriation of overseas nationals as well as the delivery of essential medical supplies.
The same has been pledged by Kuwait Airways, which will operate 40 flights over the coming days.
The move comes as Kuwait launched a “grand repatriation” plan which includes coordinated efforts to facilitate the safe return of students, diplomats, and other Kuwaiti citizens.
Officials have said the repatriation initiative will run until May 7 with the aim of bringing back 50,000 people to the country.
Meanwhile, the UAE said it has organized 127 flights that repatriated 22,900 people over the past days, with 27 more flights in the pipeline.
Around 2,286 Emiratis from 43 countries have been flown back to the UAE amid the outbreak, according to Khalid Abdullah Belhoul, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, adding 11 more flights are being organized to repatriate 755 more nationals.
