Representatives of students in the UK said on Monday that the situation regarding repatriation flights has consistently improved in the last two weeks.
Nicos Petrou, who is on the executive committee the Association of Parents and Guardians of Cypriot Students, told Cyprus Mail that in the last two weeks over 2,000 students have come back to Cyprus and other 2,000 are expected to be repatriated within the next few weeks.
“After that, the number will probably drop, as the majority of students indicated April or early May as their preferred repatriation period,” Petrou said.
In late March, the foreign ministry set up an online portal (www.connect2cy.gov.cy) where people wishing to be repatriated could register, giving priority to first year and foundation students, along with people belonging in vulnerable categories.
“There are over 9,200 Cypriots studying in the UK and, throughout the last month, many of them expressed their wish to come back to Cyprus, which is understandable considering how the situation regarding the pandemic has unfolded in the UK,” said Petrou.
“However, I want to make it clear that not all Cypriot students in the UK actually wanted to come back. Among them there are those completing their masters or postgraduate degrees, who are also working and did not apply to get repatriated.”
Meanwhile, some students who were repatriated and were moved to quarantine facilities upon their arrival, have encountered problems with internet connectivity, that have prevented them from keeping up with their online courses set by their universities.
“I can confirm that we received complaints from at least one quarantine facility in Agros where students are experiencing serious issues with the Wi-Fi coverage,” Petrou said.
“It might not sound like a real problem, but students need a good connection in order to follow their lectures, it’s very important.”
Petrou, however, said that, after the association complained about the matter, government officials were immediately dispatched to fix the situation.
He also added that, apart from two hotels in Larnaca and in Nicosia, all other quarantine facilities were in perfect condition and compliant with the health and safety measures issued by the state.
“I want to reiterate that we didn’t complain just for the sake of it, but because we wanted to alert the government regarding situations that needed fixing,” he said.
“It is a difficult situation for everyone, and I want to thank the government for the amazing job they did regarding the repatriation of our children, which was not an easy thing to organise,” he said.
The first repatriation flight on Monday landed at Larnaca airport at 6am from Edinburgh.
Later on Monday evening a flight from Heathrow was to bring back around 115 people, mainly students and another was due to arrive from Saudi Arabia bringing back around 20 Cypriots working in Jeddah and Riyadh.
