Passengers stranded in the Netherlands: “I want to go home”

There is light in the tunnel for the passengers who are currently stranded in the Netherlands. Suriname’s national carrier, Surinam Airways (SLM) might fly about 200 Surinamese nationals back to Suriname, if everything goes according to plan. Officials opted for this number of passengers based on the available spots at the government’s quarantine facilities. Andy Vliesse, Public Relations

Officer at SLM, pointed out that the plan is to carry out the flight from the Netherlands to Suriname on April 20. The official flight schedule has not been published yet but the tentative flight schedule indicates that the flight is expected to arrive in Suriname at 16:45. The next day the plane will leave for the Netherlands with passengers who were stranded in Suriname. Vliesse explained that people who took a SLM flight to the Netherlands do not have to pay for the return flight. Several passengers who did not fly to Schiphol with the SLM told Times of Suriname that they must pay 725 euro, if they want to be on the April 20 flight to Suriname. “We had to pay the money before noon on yesterday. I want to go home so I paid the money,” said one of the passengers on

Wednesday. The National COVID-19 Management Team announced that about 900 Surinamese nationals are stranded in various parts of the world. “We are busy trying to get them back to Suriname,” said Danielle Veira, member of the National COVID-19 Management Team, who added that everybody who is flown back must be put in state quarantine for 14 days.