LONDON: The British government has decided to arrange flights on charter to repatriate stranded British citizens in Pakistan as calls for quick action amid the Covid-19 pandemic intensify.

British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner on Thursday said that chartered flight operations would begin from Pakistan next week, with “at least five daily flights from Islamabad and three from Lahore”. He added that passengers would pay for tickets and that booking would open on Saturday.

“We know the frustrations some of you have had with PIA industrial actions, cancellations as well as costs,” Dr Turner said, adding that as PIA was no longer running daily flights to the UK, the UK government was working to start charter flights.

The charter operation is part of a UK government GBP 75 million effort to repatriate hundreds of thousands of British nationals stranded in dozens of countries since the coronavirus outbreak halted flight operations. In many countries where commercial flights were not operating, the UK arranged flight charters under this programme to take citizens home.

So far, the British government said it has repatriated 7,758 Britons from Pakistan via 22 PIA flights which operated commercially or with special permission.

Qureshi says PIA to enter bidding process for operation

“Given that options [are] now closing, we will charter flights [from Pakistan],” British foreign secretary Dominic Raab tweeted, adding that he had spoken to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on how to get more people home to the UK.

Mr Qureshi at a press conference said Mr Raab had requested Pakistan’s cooperation in repatriating 8,000 additional British citizens. “[Raab] said our [British] flights should be allowed to come to Pakistan,” said Qureshi, adding: “We also told PIA to bid in the competitive bidding for charters, as it will provide the national carrier an opportunity to recover financially.”

A decision on which airline will operate the charter flights from Pakistan to the UK has not been announced, but some British Pakistanis have expressed reservations about PIA.

Several Britons stuck in Pakistan on social media have alleged that the national carrier has mismanaged the repatriation effort. Some have complained that PIA asked passengers to appear in person to purchase tickets, while others have expressed anger at flight cancellations in the wake of a pilot strike.

British-Pakistani Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan, who is leading the campaign to take Britons home from Pakistan, in an open letter accused the British government of ignoring Britons in Pakistan.

“If only we were backpackers or on our gap years abroad, she said. “If only our families were deemed to be your core voting constituency. Maybe then we would get some flights.” She added that Britons who are already high risk are forced to fork out hefty sums for flights that “even pilots have protested against being flown”.

In several countries, the British government has considered commercial airlines as options for the charter service after examining factors such as pricing and efficiency for such a large scale repatriation effort.

The UK has already kicked off charter flights in India, where commercial options are not available.

On a portal which serves as the booking link for Britons in India, a message states that the chartered flights operating from April 13 to April 19 will bring British tourists, short-term visitors and their direct dependents back to the UK from a number of airports in India.

“Anyone found not eligible to fly will be denied boarding and we reserve the right to deduct an administration fee before offering any refund,” it said.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2020