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12,000 migrant workers repatriated: 40,000 to be repatriated within 14 days

30 Jun 2020

By Skandha Gunasekara Over 40,000 migrant workers are to be brought down within a span of two weeks, The Morning learnt. Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL) Chairman Major General (Rtd.) G.A. Chandrasiri told The Morning that 12,000 migrant workers had already been repatriated. “There are 40,000-odd migrant workers currently registered with our embassies abroad wanting to return. The whole repatriation process should take around three weeks. Twelve thousand or so have already been brought down.” The Chairman went on to say that around 500 Sri Lankans would be flown in daily. “We will be quarantining each individual who returns. We hope to bring down around 500-600 people every day,” he said. He noted that as a result of the repatriation programme, the reopening of the airport would have to be delayed. “We can’t have tourists coming in at the same time as expatriates. Therefore, the airport will have to be reopened later than planned. This will also help keep seats available for Sri Lankans to return before tourists start booking up flights.”


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