THE UK Government will work with commercial airlines to help stranded citizens get home, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced.
The Foreign Office has set aside £75 million to charter flights to get those stuck abroad home from areas where commercial routes are no longer running.
In areas where commercial flights can still run, the Government will work with airlines to get people home.
Speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference, Raab said: "I can today announce a new arrangement between the Government and airlines to fly home tens of thousands of stranded British travellers, where commercial flights are no longer possible."
He added: "Under the arrangements that we are putting in place we will target flights from a range of priority countries, starting this week."
Virgin, easyJet, Jet2 and Titan Airways signed a memorandum of understanding negotiated by the Foreign Secretary and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Monday.
British Airways has said they will work with Government to get people home and other airlines are expected to join.
Scotland in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: http://www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel