Raab pledges £75m to bring home Britons stuck abroad
Government agrees deal to bring 300,000 travellers back to UK on commercial or charter flights
MORE than 150,000 Britons have been rescued from Spain, Dominic Raab said last night, as he announced a £75million deal with British airlines to help those still stranded around the world.
Warning that the crisis represented the “greatest global challenge in a generation”, the Foreign Secretary said that a further 13,500 people had been brought back from Cyprus and Morocco in recent weeks.
A number of repatriation flights organised by the Government in recent days have also taken off from Peru and Ghana, bringing home 1,400 people.
“We’ve not faced challenges like this in getting people home from abroad on this scale in recent memory,” Mr Raab said.
However, with global travel routes and airports shutting down rapidly, he said that a significant repatriation plan was now required to help an estimated 300,000 British travellers still overseas.
Under the agreement reached with five British airlines, hundreds of additional charter flights will be organised and sent to countries where commercial flights are no longer available.
British travellers will be asked to pay between £250 and £500 to secure a seat on an aircraft, which will be operated by one of the partner companies that have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government.
Those unable to pay will be offered an emergency loan, but only once they “have exhausted all other avenues”.
A travel management company has been drafted in to help organise ticketing and administration, with new departures publicised through the Foreign Office travel advice website and network of embassies.
Mr Raab is also working with the airlines to keep commercial flights running to popular long-haul destinations such as Australia and New Zealand.
Four companies – Virgin, easyjet, Jet2 and Titan Airways – have signed up to the full deal.
However, it is understood that Mr Raab is putting pressure on British Airways, which is currently only providing chartered flights, to join the arrangement, along with other airlines.
As part of the commercial agreement, the Government has pledged to use its diplomatic leverage to keep global transport hubs and air routes open for airlines, which in turn have been asked to keep planes in the sky and prices affordable. Travellers will also be able to switch their tickets to another carrier, should their flight be cancelled, Mr Raab said.
Separately, ministers are working with international airlines to assist in the effort, with Qatar Airways last week laying on flights outside its usual schedule to Darwin, Australia.
The Foreign Office is also liaising with foreign governments, particularly the Gulf states, in order to keep major transport hubs such as Doha, Dubai and Singapore open to enable more long-haul journeys.
Last night Whitehall sources estimated that the chartered flights, which are expected to cost the Government £250,000 each, will cover around 60,000 travellers, while the rest will be covered by commercial airlines.
Issuing an appeal to Britons to return home immediately, Mr Raab said: “Where commercial routes remain an option, airlines will be responsible for getting passengers home. That means offering alternative flights at little-tono cost where routes have been cancelled. So for those still in those countries where commercial flights are still available, don’t wait, don’t run the risk of getting stranded.
“Where commercial flights are no longer running the Government will provide financial support for special charter flights to bring UK nationals back home.”
However, ministers still face a significant challenge to keep air routes open, with the British High Commission in New Zealand conceding yesterday that Britons may not be able to be repatriated for some time owing to the national lockdown. It is thought that there are at least 9,000 Britons stranded in New Zealand, 4,000 in Bali and tens of thousands more in other countries including India, Pakistan and Australia.