Foreign Ministry to organize no repatriation flights from United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal

RIGA - The Foreign Ministry will organize no repatriation flights from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal after a ban on traveling to Latvia from these three countries comes into force, as the ministry's parliamentary secretary Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica (New Unity) told Saeima Defense, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee today.

Residents of Latvia currently in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal do have the right to return to Latvia, but they will have to use connecting flights, said Kalnina-Lukasevica.

"This will be more complicated, but theoretically this is possible. No repatriation flights will be organized as the objective is to limit traveling," explained Kalnina-Lukasevica.

As reported, the government yesterday in principle agreed to ban traveling to Latvia from the UK, Ireland and Portugal in order to curb spread of the new Covid-19 strand.

"This ban will refer to both direct trips from these countries and indirect trips through other countries," Transport Minister Talis Linkaits (New Conservative Party) said after the government meeting.