Four charter flights have been arranged to fly back home up to 850 British citizens stranded in Bangladesh owing to coronavirus outbreak.
The first flight will depart Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for London on Tuesday, according to the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The other three flights will depart on April 23, 25 and 26 respectively.
“These flights are not offered on a first come first served basis. We will be prioritising the most vulnerable. We know a large number of vulnerable Brits are elderly and our aim is to get them on the first flights – not all will be able to get on the first flight on Tuesday,” British high commissioner in Dhaka said in a video message on Sunday.
The British citizens, who live in Sylhet, will be transferred to Dhaka to catch the flights to UK.
Every passenger will have to pay 600 pounds for the journey.
“We are in a truly unprecedented situation, and I know people are concerned about getting home to their loved ones,” FCO Minister of State Lord Tariq Ahmad said.
“Foreign Office staff in the UK and Bangladesh have been working tirelessly with the Bangladeshi authorities to help British travellers who want to come back to the UK and these flights mean people can now do that,” he said.