Foreign Affairs Ministry: 330 Romanians flown home from Spain

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that 330 Romanian citizens were repatriated on Friday from Spain aboard two flights from Barcelona and Madrid, operated by a private company.

"In continuation of the steps taken to facilitate the return home of Romanian citizens who are temporarily residing abroad and who were affected by the measures adopted by other states in the context of handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that 330 Romanian citizens have returned home from the Kingdom of Spain, as a result of the joint efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The repatriation was by two flights from Barcelona and Madrid, operated by a private company," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Also, following the joint efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Embassy in Bucharest, 41 Spanish citizens have been safely flown home aboard the two aircraft on the route Bucharest - Madrid and Bucharest - Barcelona, respectively.

"The Foreign Affairs Ministry renews its firm calls for avoiding any non-essential foreign trips, as they can carry major risks, endangering the safety of the citizens and their possibility to return home. The Ministry also advises Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad to strictly respect the recommendations of the authorities of the respective states and emphasizes that traveling to Romania must be completely avoided during this period.

These trips are increasingly affected by the restrictions imposed by the states of transit, which considerably narrow the possibilities of assistance from the Romanian authorities, and may be an additional factor for the spread of the COVID-19 infection, thus putting in jeopardy the safety of the Romanian travelers and of those at home," the Foreign Ministry said.