Kuwait to contract global airline to bring home its citizens from out of reach cities
By Mohammad Al-Mutairi
KUWAIT CITY, April 21, (KUNA): Kuwait plans to contract a global airline to bring home nationals stranded in cities unreachable by its two domestic airlines, Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways, amid the global spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The Cabinet is the sole body responsible for choosing the operator, Kuwait airport’s Deputy Director at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Saleh Al-Faddaghi said on Monday.
Some four flights are scheduled to arrive later on Monday, which represents the second day of the huge endeavor.
This comes after another 15 flights arrived earlier and another 27 arrived the day before, bringing the total to 46 flights, thus far.
The recent flights are part of a phase one, which includes trips from neighbouring Gulf Arab countries and some Arab and global destinations.
This particular phase will be followed by a “rest day,” said the official, ahead of the commencement phase two on Thursday, which focuses on the remaining Arab countries and the rest of the world.
This period will also target a three-day repatriation of passengers with specific medical needs.
The whole plan is being administered under the directions of the Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Al-Nasser Al-Sabah and is being executed by a ministerial committee led by Ambassador Dhari Al-Ajran.
The operating procedures for each body under the plan at Kuwait International Airport, have been outlined under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and healthcare authorities.
Passengers will be supervised by Kuwaiti authorities upon entering the plane at their respective locations, during their flight, at the airport where they will be administered virus detection health checks, upon receiving baggage and upon departing the airport to their mandatory home or institutional quarantine or to a medical facility.
Earlier, Directorate General of Civil Aviation head Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah announced the global cities which will fall under phase two.
These include Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Alexandria, Casablanca, Tunis, Nouakchott, Dakar, Istanbul, Malta, Tbilisi, Baku, Brussels, London, Paris, Vienna, Sarajevo, Amsterdam, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai, New Delhi and New York.