171 Passengers Repatriated from Cape Verde on Luxair Flight

Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has announced the successful repatriation of 171 European citizens from Cape Verde on a special flight operated by Luxair.

Following the suspension of commercial flights to and from Cape Verde due to the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, many Luxembourgish citizens and residents and other European nationals recently found themselves stranded on the various Cape Verdean islands.

It was in this context that Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs decided to organise a special repatriation flight, operated by Luxair, on Wednesday 25 March 2020, as well as to activate the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The flight flew from the Cape Verdean island of Sal to Luxembourg and enabled the repatriation of 171 people of different nationalities to Europe. This included 52 Luxembourg nationals and residents, 52 Germans, 42 Belgians, five Dutch, nine Swiss, four Austrians, three Spanish, three French and one Lithuanian national.

The ministry has assured that, on arrival at Luxembourg Airport, all arrangements had been made to ensure a smooth return to their respective countries of residence, in a spirit of European solidarity and respect for the Schengen Agreement, which today celebrates its 25th anniversary (since its entry into force).