Stranded Swiss and EU nationals fly out

A tourist contingent comprising 164 Swiss and EU nationals left from Kochi on Saturday by a Swiss Air flight after being stranded in India for weeks. Kerala’s department of tourism had extended all support and assistance to the tourists who have been successfully repatriated.

Out of this, 124 tourists were stranded in Kerala and 40 in the neighbouring states, said Kerala Tourism secretary Rani George.

Sebastien Hug, the Consul General of Switzerland in Bengaluru was present in Kochi to oversee the repatriation and expressed happiness over the meticulous planning and arrangements made by Rajkumar, Regional Joint Director and other tourism officials. Syed Ibrahim, honorary Consul of Germany in Thiruvananthapuram was also at Kochi with his team to extend support for the repatriation arrangements.

The Department of Tourism had earlier provided assistance for the repatriation flights of Germany, France and UK from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

Along with this, the officials of the Department have been assisting the tourists from other countries as well, like Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Republic of Korea, Malaysia etc who are traveling to other states to board their repatriation flights.