390 French tourists repatriated from PH: embassy

The French government has arranged the second special flight operated by Qatar Airways at a negotiated rate in order to bring home the said tourists stranded and affected by the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. (File photo: @chuttersnap/Unsplash)

MANILA – A total of 390 stranded French tourists and other Europeans were repatriated from the Philippines, the French embassy in Manila reported on Thursday.

“In the evening of April 1 and 2, 2020, 390 French citizens contacted by the Embassy, as well as 22 citizens of different European States, were able to return to France from Cebu and Manila,” it said in a statement.

The French government has arranged the second special flight operated by Qatar Airways at a negotiated rate in order to bring home the said tourists stranded and affected by the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

“Similar to the previous special flight organized last March 24 and 25, the Embassy of France renews its most sincere gratitude to the Filipino authorities, most especially the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism, the Department of Transportation, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, as well as the administrators of the Mactan Cebu International Airport and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, for their active and constant support in the organization of this flight and in the success of this operation,” it said.

The embassy also thanked Qatar Airways for the second special flight despite the short notice, “within the context of extremely disrupted air traffic due to the global epidemic, Covid-19”.

The two flights organized by the French government last March 24 and April 1 have allowed the return of 796 tourists to France.