English Section

30,000 Poles waiting to return from abroad amid coronavirus epidemic: report

18.03.2020 13:05
Around 30,000 Poles around the world are still waiting to return from abroad as the government conducts a massive operation to fly them home amid the coronavirus epidemic, a news agency has reported.
A LOT plane prepares to land at Warsaw airport
A LOT plane prepares to land at Warsaw airport Photo: PAP/Mateusz Marek

Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said that national carrier LOT was daily ferrying about 5,000 Poles home on flights chartered by the government.

He added the special flights would continue as long as they were needed, or until restrictions on international air traffic were lifted.

Since Sunday, over 8,000 passengers have returned to Poland on more than 50 LOT flights, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

Poland suspended scheduled international air connections on Sunday.

The country has declared a state of "epidemic emergency" and temporarily closed its borders to non-residents on Sunday as it ramped up efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A total of 246 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Poland, while five people have died after being infected.

(pk)

Source: IAR