A second flight to bring home hundreds of Australians stranded in Peru has been confirmed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In a statement the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Marise Payne said the Department was committed to assisting Australians to return home by facilitating commercial flights from Peru, Argentina and South Africa.
“A Qantas service from Lima to Australia was scheduled to depart Peru on Monday (13 April),” Senator Payne said.
“And subject to confirmation of regulatory and operational approvals, the details of commercial services to Buenos Aires and Johannesburg will be confirmed in the coming days.”
She said Monday’s evacuation followed a flight which departed from Lima, Cusco and Iquitos the Thursday before, carrying 280 Australians and four New Zealanders to Melbourne.
“We are also working on facilitated flights from further destinations in the coming weeks, including to India and the Philippines,” Senator Payne said.
She said border closures and internal restrictions on movement in many countries around the world, along with the complexity of arranging such flights, should not be underestimated.
“Australian officials are working closely with relevant governments to support Australians to travel internally to major airports and gain the necessary flight approvals and airport clearances in locations where Australian airlines do not typically fly,” Senator Payne said.
She said the recent flights were the outcome of hard work by Australia’s consular and diplomatic staff to assist Australians overseas.
“It follows the return of more than 280,000 Australians in recent weeks, including more than 6,200 Australians who have safely disembarked 45 cruise ships around the world,” Senator Payne said.
“The Australian Government will, where possible, support non-scheduled commercial services to further locations to bring Australians home where there are few other options to depart.”
