UK nationals likely to return home on April 15

KOCHI: The eight UK nationals, who successfully underwent Covid-19 treatment, are likely to return home by April 15 on a chartered flight arranged by the British embassy from Cochin airport. The UK government has opened a web portal for its nationals stranded in the state to register their names and repatriation procedure. According to K Rajkumar, joint director of Kerala Tourism, the flight is likely to facilitate 250 passengers, and will take off from the Cochin airport to London via Thiruvananthapuram. “Those stranded in north and central Kerala can board from Cochin and those in south Kerala can board from Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.

The web portal etm.eventsair.com is operated by UK-based Corporate Travel Management. Foreign nationals stranded in the state can also contact Kerala Tourism for further help. The UK embassy had sent a communication to the Union Ministry of External Affairs regarding airlifting its stranded nationals, which then took it up with the chief secretaries of the respective states. 

NRIs can register as well
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), who work in the UK and are currently held up in the state, can also register through the portal. “Considering the grave situation in the UK, NRI nurses and doctors who had come on holiday have registered through the portal so as to rejoin work at the earliest,” said an official. The UK embassy will operate chartered flights from New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the repatriation process of other foreign tourists stranded in the state is under way. “On Saturday, eight tourists from Brazil were sent on a bus to Mumbai, from where they will board their flight. Another bus carrying six Singapore nationals plied to Chennai, from where a flight will be arranged,” said an official. Many stranded in the state are from the USA. “Sweden will arrange a special flight next week,” said Rajkumar.