Coronavirus: UK announces three more flights for Britons in Nigeria

The UK government has announced three more charter flights to transport Britons from Nigeria.

The British government has already airlifted 1,700 Britons from Nigeria since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an official statement from the British High Commission in Nigeria.

Nigeria has also airlifted hundreds of its citizens from the UK, U.S., Saudi Arabia and others due to the pandemic which has caused over 300,000 deaths globally.

The charter flights for Britons in Nigeria will be available from May 29 to June 6.

Read the official statement from the UK government below.

UK Government announces three more charter flights for British travellers

Hundreds more British travellers are set to return home from Nigeria on three flights chartered by the UK Government.

More than 1,700 British travellers have already returned to the UK on special charter flights in April and May – from Lagos and Abuja.

Details of the new flights are:

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· Friday 29 May: Lagos – London

· Monday 1 June: Lagos – London

· Saturday 6 June: Abuja – London

A UK organised special internal charter flight will travel from Port Harcourt to Abuja on Saturday 6 June to enable British nationals based in, or near, Port Harcourt to join the 6 June flight from Abuja to London.

Minister of State for Africa, James Duddridge, said:

“Brits in Nigeria will now have access to additional repatriation flights, meaning hundreds more will be able to fly home. We’ve already arranged for around 1,700 people to return home to their friends and family and continue to support British nationals who remain in the country”.

Catriona Laing, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, said:

“I am delighted to announce a third wave of flights to take more of our British travellers home from Nigeria – adding to the 1,700 people we’ve already helped since airports closed on 23 April. If you are eligible and wish to return to the UK, I’d urge you to book seats on these flights as they are likely to be the last charter flights available”.

For further information and to book a ticket, British travellers should visit the Nigeria Travel Advice pages: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/nigeria/return-to-the-uk

The UK Government is working with the airline industry and host governments across the world to bring British travellers home as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on 30 March – with up to £75 million available for special charter flights to priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers.

So far, charter flights have returned British travellers from countries including India, the Philippines, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nepal, Ghana, Tunisia, Algeria and Peru.