Sri Lanka resumes repatriation flights

Hundreds of Sri Lankans will fly home on repatriation flights from overseas as the Sri Lanka slowly opens up its international airports for expatriates.

The Sri Lankan government halted the repatriation of its citizens from various countries from July 14 in view of the increasing number of cases.

"We had to temporarily halt the repatriation flights from July 14 due to a sudden spike of COVID-19 infections in a drug rehabilitation centre. We have been able to successfully control it. This means that the space in the quarantine centre has been made free," Admiral Jayanath Colombage, Additional Secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said

The next few flights have been scheduled predominantly focussing on the Middle East, especially countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Admiral Jayanath Colombage said nearly 50,000 Sri Lankans stranded overseas have registered with their relevant embassies requesting to be repatriated.

The next few flights have been scheduled predominantly focussing on the Middle East, especially countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

As a majority of these Sri Lankans have lost their jobs and places of residence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the responsibility of the government to assist them and repatriate them, he said.

Malraj De Silva, Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Abu Dhabi, said authorities prioritised pregnant women, students, people with medical conditions, senior citizens and the unemployed for previous flights.

“When clusters of coronavirus cases emerged within the country, flights were suspended to control the numbers. There has also been an issue with the availability of quarantine beds in Sri Lanka,” ambassador De Silva said.

“We are trying our best to send people back. On the next flights, we are trying to include those whose residence visas were cancelled after March 1 since they will face penalties.

“We have requested a pardon of fines for these vulnerable groups.”

According to the Foreign Ministry, some 50,000 Lankans are stranded in several countries who are wanting to return. The plight of stranded Sri Lankan migrant workers mostly maids and construction workers in the Middle East has become a major issue.Activists working for migrant labour claimed at least a hundred Sri Lankan workers have died in various countries during the past three months.