(Jamaica Observer) About 310 more British travellers will be able to return home from Jamaica on a second charter flight organised by the Government of the United Kingdom.
On May 7 several British travellers stranded in Jamaica were taken home on a Boeing 787 charter flight arranged by the UK Government in partnership with the travel company TUI.
The flight had repatriated 40 Jamaicans who had spent the past several weeks stuck at sea on the cruise ship Marella Discovery 2, as well as other Jamaicans who were stranded in the UK because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The latest flight is scheduled to leave the Norman Manley International Airport, to London Heathrow on June 3.
This follows the support the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has already provided to get people back on special flights from The Bahamas, Cuba, and Guyana.
The FCO has also helped thousands of British travellers to return home from the Caribbean to the UK via commercial routes, including more than 4,300 from Jamaica.
“I am very pleased we have been able to organise this special return flight for British travellers in Jamaica,” said British Minister for the Caribbean, Baroness Sugg.
“Getting people home as quickly as possible remains our priority, and this latest flight will mean that we have helped more than 11,000 Britons return to the UK from across the Caribbean. Our team in Jamaica will ensure that any British travellers who remain receive the support they need,” added Baroness Sugg.
She was supported by Asif Ahmad, British High Commissioner to Jamaica, who underscored that it has been a difficult time for British people waiting to return home from Jamaica.
“My team and I are pleased to offer this second charter flight from Kingston, which would not be possible without the collaboration with the Jamaican authorities. I urge any Britons still in Jamaica wishing to return to the UK to book their flight as soon as possible,” said Ahmad.
“The UK Government is working with the airline industry and host governments across the world to bring back British travellers to the UK as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, with up to £75 million available for special charter flights to priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers,” added Ahmad.
The charter flights arranged by the FCO are for British nationals normally resident in the UK and dependants travelling with a British national.
Vulnerable British nationals will be prioritised, while vulnerable non-British UK residents with “Indefinite Leave to Remain” and other foreign nationals may be accommodated if there is sufficient capacity.
