A NUMBER of scheduled repatriation flights to bring back students and nationals overseas were disrupted by the political unrest last month.
That’s according to Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Collin Beck on Sunday during radio talk back show over the national broadcaster-SIBC.
“As we in a period of sending back our students in the country, some flights have been disrupted by the political unrest.
“Some flights are disrupted by the recent event so basically the oversight will meet again trying to look at the specific dates,” he said.
The government still think of the returning students and national and plan to reschedule flights on specific dates that will update to all soon.
“For students in Fiji and Vanuatu rest assured, we are still thinking of you during this month, we actually reschedule the flights for this month that will put flights on the specific dates,” he said.
PS Beck added hopefully in mid and later December they will definitely come back to the students to let them know of the flights.
There will be two flights to collect students and nationals in Vanuatu and Fiji because it will be insufficient for one flight to bring them back.
“One flight will go through Port Villa to pick up students and nationals that are waiting to return and the other will likely to go to Fiji,” he said.
Beck also confirmed a flight coming in from Indonesia; the flight is for the people who will work on the national projects.
The Oversight Committee will revise all the flights and put them on specific dates.
“Everything we’re trying to do now is trying to match all the seats on the plan with all the beds but most importantly we are tried to ensure that the test and all the pre-departure requirements are set.
“Everyone must be fully vaccinated before boarding the repatriation flights,” he said.
Government is also looking to repatriate students in Papua New Genuine, Manila and Cuba.
“We also looking at the students that still doing their vaccination in Manila and there are some recently graduated doctors waiting for couple of months in Cuba they too Oversight will look to repatriate,” he said.
Beck advices all the students in Vanuatu, Fiji, PNG, Manila and Cuba to confirm their names and pre-departure test with the High Commissions base on their host country.
For students in Manila they will check the Ministry of Education for their repatriate list plus arrangement so that Oversight Committee can plan out the repatriate flights.
In PNG students, there are 79 students are yet to return to the country.
By LACHLAN EDDIE
Newsroom, Honiara
