Cape Town - Foreign nationals stranded in South Africa will be allowed to be repatriated under strict conditions, while South African nationals abroad who wished to return home would be allowed to do so, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Tuesday.
Mbalula was speaking at a media briefing by the government’s inter ministerial committee on Covid-19 in Pretoria on Tuesday.
He stipulated the following conditions for the repatriation of foreign nationals:
-
The home country must charter a flight carrying only the crew, who will not be allowed to disembark at the airport.
South Africans wishing to return home would be allowed to do so under the following conditions:
-
They must be in possession of a fully paid return air ticket;
-
On arrival they would be subjected to mandatory quarantine of up to 21 days;
With cargo planes, Mbalula said the crew would be allowed to disembark, rest and check-in to specific undisclosed hotels. He said the crew would be allowed to disembark subject to mandatory quarantine regulations.
According to Internatinal Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor 1 471 South Africans stranded abroad have requested repatriation. Of this number 723 are students, 203 work abroad and 224 are tourists. There are 320 who have not indicated their status but have expressed a desire to be repatriated.
Pandor said that her department has established a 24-hour command centre to deal with queries from people wishing to return home.
Mbalula reiterated that the lockdown regulations remained in place, but that the government would allow airlines willing to transport South Africans who were stranded outside the country to bring them home.
The minister also announced that the following technical flights will be allowed to land at selected airports in the country:
-
Medical evacuation flights carrying only the patient, medical personnel and crew who will be subjected to mandatory quarantine regulations.
-
Cargo planes will be allowed to land and crew will be allowed to disembark but will be subjected to mandatory quarantine regulations.
-
Aircraft needing to refuel would be allowed to do so, but the crew would not be allowed to disembark.