Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of UK travellers awaiting repatriation to the UK from (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Bangladesh as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

Helping British travellers who need and want to return to the UK is one of the Government's highest priorities. Since the outbreak in Wuhan, we estimate that over 1.3 million people have returned to the UK via commercial routes - the majority supported by our work to keep vital routes open. Additionally we have brought home over 31,700 people on 151 flights organised by the Foreign Office from 27 countries and territories.

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are priorities for the UK Government and we have been working closely with both airlines and the governments of each of those countries to ensure British travellers can return home. We have worked with international allies to lobby authorities to keep commercial air routes open and work together to return travellers globally. In addition, as of 14 May we have arranged 62 charter flights from India and 21 from Pakistan which have repatriated more than 18,000 British travellers. 1,600 British travellers have been repatriated from Bangladesh. Our High Commissions are providing consular assistance to those who need it, including the most vulnerable, and are continuing to provide regular updates on social media. We encourage British travellers to subscribe to our travel service update. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice