Flights organised by Lithuania to repatriate its citizens stuck abroad due to the coronavirus crisis have cost the state almost 150,000 euros, Transport Minister Jaroslav Narkevič said on Monday.
The costliest flight was that from Bali, at around 73,000 euros, and a Paris-Vilnius flight cost some 20,000 euros, he said at a news conference.
Read more: Charter flights repatriate Lithuanians from Paris
A total of 3,253 citizens were flown home on 21 flights between mid-March and Monday, according to the minister. The government expects to use EU funds to cover around 60,000 euros of the total cost.
Laimonas Talat-Kelpša, the chancellor of the Foreign Ministry, said around 6,000 Lithuanian citizens registered with the country's diplomatic missions. Some 200 people are still in need of help getting back.
There are five Lithuanian citizens in the Peruvian jungle, one in Congo, Senegal and Colombia each, six in the United Arab Emirates, and eight in Saint Barthelemy. Twenty-two minors are stranded in the US where they participated in a student exchange program.
Only joint EU repatriation flights will be operated from April 1.
LRT English
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