LONDON: The British government has finally decided to run chartered flights to repatriate thousands of Britons stuck in Pakistan after closure of airspace in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
In a video message Britain’s High Commissioner in Pakistan Dr Christian Turner said: “We know the frustrations some of you have had with PIA during industrial action, cancellations as well as costs.
“PIA told us yesterday that they would now no longer fly daily to the UK. So Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has agreed that we can now organise a series of chartered flights to get more Britons back home.”
Dr Turner mentioned that it would take at least the rest of this week to sort out the chartered flights and highlighted the fact that he had ensured the flights for over 7,500 Britons with the help of Pakistani authorities.
The News and Geo had repeatedly raised the issue on behalf of thousands of stranded Britons, questioning why the UK government was not launching chartered flights for Pakistan utilising the dedicated £75 million fund to bring back Britons from several countries, including Philippines and three cities of India.
Britons in Pakistan were requesting chartered flights ever since Pakistan closed its airspace but the government was hesitant in bringing them back through chartered flights even though the same facility was given to British nationals in India, China, Peru and The Philippines.
Many stranded Britons in Pakistan are extremely vulnerable and desperately need to get back to the UK. Some of them are elderly and have run out of their medication while others have run out of money after buying multiple tickets for cancelled PIA flights.
Afzal Khan MP, who had called for chartered flights from Pakistan, welcomed British High Commissioner’s statement. He said: “Pleased to hear there are now plans for charter flights to bring home #BritsStrandedinPakistan but this should have happened weeks ago. I will be following developments closely to ensure all British Pakistanis are returned home safely.”
Naz Shah MP has also written to Zulfi Bukhari, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, in which she highlighted the plight of her stranded constituents in Pakistan who have booked multiple flights through PIA which were cancelled. In some cases, travellers were stuck in Islamabad airport for days after they were formally told that their flights got cancelled.
In the letter, the MP from Bradford West writes: “This simply is not acceptable; the airline has failed in its duty of care to my constituents. Some constituents through sheer desperation, have made up to three separate bookings to get home, with many having to borrow money off family and friends for this yet, the airline has failed to deliver.”
