221 Pakistanis stranded in Indonesia return home

KARACHI: As many as 221 Pakistanis stranded in Indonesia due to the suspension of flight operations returned to Pakistan via a special flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday.

According to a spokesperson of PIA, a special flight of PIA PK-8889 brought the stranded Pakistani from Jakarta airport to Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.

The spokesman said that all the passengers have been shifted to a quarantine centre for screening and testing them for the coronavirus.

He added the passengers will be allowed to leave for their homes if their test results return negative.

On April 8, the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) had brought back 136 stranded Pakistani nationals from Baghdad through a special flight.

PIA’s special flight PK-9814 had brought back home the Pakistani nationals stuck in Iraq owing to suspension of international flights to the country amid COVID-19 outbreak.

The special flight had landed Islamabad airport where doctors examined and screened the passengers.

The passengers include disabled persons, women, children and elderly people. All the passengers and crew members had been shifted to a quarantine centre established at a local hotel.