Asked by: Baroness Humphreys (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the current arrangements for UK citizens awaiting repatriation from New Zealand.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The second of five UK charter flights from New Zealand landed at London Heathrow on 27 April. We have so far chartered two flights back from New Zealand, one from Auckland on 28 April and one from Christchurch on 30 April, with one further flight from Auckland on 2 May. In response to demand, a second group of flights has now been opened for booking, departing Auckland on 11, 15 May and Christchurch on 13 May, also to London Heathrow via Hong Kong.
We have prioritised the most vulnerable and our NHS workers. We subsequently extended these flights to all British travellers remaining in New Zealand. We have advised those who would like to return to the UK to register with our travel partner Corporate Travel Management (CTM) through their online portal, which can be found in our 'Return to the UK' page of our New Zealand travel advice.