Africa-Press – Mozambique. Portugal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs this Sunday apologised for the inconvenience caused by the suspension, since Monday, of flights to and from Mozambique. Augusto Santos Silva promised repatriation flights as soon as possible.
“The only thing I ask you for now is patience, as it was a very sudden decision [suspending flights]. It was taken on the basis of news on the new variant last week, and the European Union had to act immediately. I therefore ask for your patience, and apologise for the inconvenience caused by this decision,” Augusto Santos Silva said.
Speaking to journalists at the Manuel António da Mota Prize award ceremony in Oporto, Portugal, Santos Silva stressed that the government would lay on repatriation flights for those in Mozambique who want to return to Portugal, and vice versa.
Flights to and from Mozambique were suspended from 00:00 on Monday, November 29, as announced by the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration on Friday, and quarantine requirements have been imposed on passengers from a number of African countries.
The decision to suspend flights follows containment measures introduced by the European Union after South African scientists detected a new, and potentially more infectious, coronavirus variant which the World Health Organisation has named Omicron.
“Now what we are going to do is […] promote the necessary flights so that Portuguese and European citizens in Mozambique who have to return to Portugal can do so and, conversely, so that Mozambican citizens in Portugal may return to their country, should they wish to do so,” he explained.
The minister added that the Portuguese government would ensure that these flights were carried out “as soon as possible”, namely in the next few days, adding that announcements would be made as soon as plans had been formulated.
For this reason, in addition to the apology and request for patience, Augusto Santos Silva asks for calm, noting that he is always favourable for things to be organised in the best possible way.
The minister also took the opportunity to praise the “complete transparency” with which southern Africa, particularly South Africa, has acted throughout the process, having “immediately” reported the detection of a new variant.
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