Covid-19 returnees land in Mozambique from Portugal

By Jose Tembe

About 160 people stranded in Portugal since the beginning of April because of coronavirus restrictions have returned to Mozambique aboard a special flight.

All international commercial flights to Mozambique were suspended under a state of emergency imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The ban remains in place but this special flight put on by Portuguese airline Tap was allowed to land on Thursday night.

Some of the travellers told Mozambique's independent television station, STV, that while they were happy to be back home, they were not pleased about the cost of the flight.

The one-way ticket had cost more than 1,600 euros ($1868, £1,458).

The high fare had prevented others from returning, they said.

Most of the returnees said they had been in Portugal either for medical treatment or for education.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Getty Images