Foreign Ministry crisis repatriation taskforce ends operations

Ljubljana, 25 April - A special consular taskforce at the Foreign Ministry that has helped repatriate several hundred Slovenians during the coronavirus crisis will end its operations on Sunday, the ministry has announced.

Berlin, Germany
Passengers waiting to get home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: DPA/STA
File photo

According to the Foreign Ministry, the number of Slovenians who wished to return home due to the Covid-19 pandemic has decreased substantially in recent weeks.

The ministry explained that all activities related to repatriation would henceforth be handled as part of regular consular services, available at the usual addresses published on the ministry's website.

The ministry established the crisis taskforce even before the epidemic was officially declared. It included diplomats and associates from various departments and services of the ministry.

The group handled calls by Slovenian citizens that got stranded in different parts of the world due to ever stricter lockdown restrictions.

It organised repatriation flights and rides that helped return 674 Slovenians home along with 136 foreign citizens. When factoring in those who made it back alone with some assistance from the taskforce, the total number of Slovenians to return home exceeds 2,000, the ministry said.

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