£75m to bring stranded Britons home
DOMINIC Raab last night announced a £75million rescue package to bring home Britons stranded abroad by the coronavirus crisis.
The Foreign Secretary said the cash would be used to fund repatriation flights after planes were grounded and international travel stopped by Covid-19.
The plan was announced after talks between ministers and airlines British Airways, Virgin, Easyjet, Jet2 and Titan Airways.
BA has already been working on repatriation flights, while the other companies signed a “memorandum of understand- ing” with Mr Raab.
The deal was announced as officials faced criticism from Britons flown back to Heathrow after being stranded in Peru.
They claimed holidaymakers had missed planes because they were only notified of their flights out of Lima by email at short notice.
Mr Raab said the new mission would focus on destinations where commercial flights have been halted, and would prioritise the sick and elderly.
He said: “This is a worrying time for many British citizens travelling abroad.
“We’ve already worked with airlines and governments to enable hundreds of thousands to return home on commercial flights.
“We will keep as many of those options open as possible.
“Where commercial flights are not possible, we will build on the earlier charter flights we organised back from China, Japan, Cuba, Ghana and Peru.
“The arrangements agreed today will provide a clearer basis to organise special charter flights where Britons find themselves stranded.
“Our priority will always be the most vulnerable.”
Foreign Office sources say about 300,000 Britons are stranded. It is aiming to bring most home via the commercial flights still running.
However, about 60,000 should benefit from the new scheme to use charter flights, costing about £250,000 each.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “This is a very difficult time for British citizens travelling overseas, or those with families and loved ones abroad.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure airlines can operate and bring people back home safely.”
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, the Foreign Office has helped return nearly 1,400 people on specially chartered flights from China and Peru, and 1,900 people from cruises. In the past week, the department has helped more than 4,000 people to get back from Jamaica and more than 8,500 from Morocco.
Another 5,000 Britons successfully left Bali after the British consular team in Indonesia worked to unblock a visa problem.
Under the scheme announced last night, airlines would honour pre-booked tickets to enable passengers to get home.
They would offer alternative flights if routes were cancelled and organise replacement tickets, through other carriers if necessary.
Officials have already organised charter flights to Ghana and Tunisia, and more countries will
be added this week. Mr Raab added: “We are negotiating intensely with countries around the world to secure permission for return flights where airspace has been closed.”
But Britons who were flown home from Peru yesterday accused the Foreign Office of bungling their rescue mission.
They claimed repatriation flights using British Airways planes were dogged by communication problems.
The relieved holidaymakers said some of those stranded missed flights out because officials contacted them just hours before the early morning flight.
Shona McKenna, 33, from Luton, said: “We didn’t get the email until midnight and we had to be at the airport at 7am, so a lot of people were asleep and never got it.
“The first flight, a lot of people missed it because they didn’t get the email in time. We had 50 people on standby but only 12 turned up to the airport.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We recognise British tourists abroad are finding it difficult to return to the UK because of the unprecedented international travel and domestic restriction.
“The office is working around the clock to support British travellers.”