Two flights are expected to land at Marsa Alam Airport on Wednesday with Egyptians who had been stranded in Oman and Chad. A further 104 Egyptians returned home on a flight from India, as part of repatriation flights for Egyptians returning from abroad.
Tamer Merhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in the Red Sea, said that all passengers were subjected to quarantine at Marsa Alam Airport, and their bags will also undergo sterilisation.,
Medical teams are being brought in who will monitor the health of the travellers, and accompany them to the hotels that have been set aside for them in Marsa Alam.
On Tuesday, Cairo and Marsa Alam airports received a number of special flights transporting 921 Egyptians who had been stranded abroad for several weeks. There has been much disruption in international air travel as most international flights have been suspended due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Two special EgyptAir flights coming from Kuwait, and carrying almost 600 passengers, arrived at Cairo International Airport on Tuesday, Al-Ahram Arabic reported.
The first flight, carrying 298 people, arrived in the afternoon, while the other arrived in the evening, carrying a further 298 passengers. All returnees will stay in specially designed quarantine areas at repurposed university dorms in Cairo, as per the Ministry of Health’s recommendations.
Also on Tuesday, the Cabinet said that the state will cover the cost of those who have gone into quarantine at university dorms. Those who want to spend their quarantine at designated hotels in Marsa Alam, however, will have to pay for their stay. Egypt is set to operate several further flights in the coming days to return more stranded nationals.
Other repatriation flights include an EgyptAir flight with 151 Egyptians stranded in Iraq, which arrived at Marsa Allam airport on Tuesday. A special AirCairo air flight coming from both Dar es Salam in Tanzania and Sudanese capital Khartoum.
