The number of people expected to be repatriated to Cyprus in May is estimated at 3.000 citizens and legal residents in the Republic of Cyprus, with the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Giannis Karousos saying that the rate of those returning currently ranges from 200-300 people per day.
In statements to KYPE, Mr. Karousos said that since March 21, when the flight ban decree was issued, a total of 5.056 people have been repatriated to Cyprus, while during the period from April 13 to May 3, those who returned amounted to 4.126 people. .
The repatriation program will continue as long as the flight ban lasts, the Minister noted. He also mentioned the case of about 80 citizens who are waiting for their repatriation from Russia, while they had bought tickets for a flight that did not take place. The flight chartered by the Russian Government for yesterday, Sunday, May 3, has been canceled and according to the information of the Russian authorities will be rescheduled.
"If it is not scheduled by tomorrow, we will schedule our own flight, as we do with the United Kingdom and Greece, to repatriate people from Russia," Mr Karousos said.
He also said that so far, flights have been operated from several airports in the United Kingdom, such as Heathrow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester, but also from Greece, both Athens and Thessaloniki.
According to Mr. Carousos, flights were also operated from Frankfurt, which served as a gathering place for passengers from 25-30 countries, while the Republic of Cyprus also used repatriation flights of citizens of other countries. To date, citizens have returned from Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Moldova, but also from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, while a flight from the Netherlands is planned in the coming days, he noted.
The peculiarities we encountered are many and are being resolved to a significant degree, the Minister said, saying that, among other things, there are people who are repatriated for humanitarian reasons and others who have to attend the funerals of first degree relatives.
Mr. Karousos also said that the process has now changed, with the authorities initially contacting those interested in planning the flight, while the final list of repatriated passengers is sent to the airline after any problems are resolved.
Finally, he said that the coordination works to the maximum extent, as it utilizes the Coordinating Center for Women of KSED, which is the basis of the repatriation team of the Ministry of Transport, with volunteers from Civil Defense, KSED staff, the Director General and staff of the Ministry of Transport. as well as representatives of Hermes Airports, the Police and the Ministry of Tourism.
Source: sigmalive
