Middle East countries fly citizens home amid coronavirus pandemic

A plane takes off from Dubai on April 10, 2020 during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. (File/AFP)
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  • ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ returned 250 Saudi nationals from Jakarta on Friday
  • Oman's foreign ministry coordinated with the Omani embassy in Kuwait to repatriate 29 of its citizens back to the Sultanate

DUBAI: Scores of people have been returned back to their home countries in a series of repatriation flights amid the coronavirus outbreak.

¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ returned 250 Saudi nationals from Jakarta on Friday, where they arrived in King Khalid International Airport, state news agency SPA reported.

The passengers were welcomed back to the Kingdom by the ministries of foreign affairs, tourism, health and the General Authority for Civil Aviation.

In Oman, the foreign ministry coordinated with the Omani embassy in Kuwait to repatriate 29 of its citizens back to the Sultanate, state news agency ONA said.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s foreign ministry urged its citizens abroad to sign up to the website: https:/withyou.e.gov.kw to ensure their return to the country.

The UAE has also repatriated 113 Ukrainian citizens in a coordinated operation to ensure the people’s return safely back to their home country.

Earlier, the UAE airline Flydubai repatriated 2,800 people to their home countries in a series of 23 flights over the three weeks between March 19 and April 8, state news agency WAM reported.
The airline has said it plans to operate a further 10 repatriation flights over the next week.