Over 500 Italian Nationals Stranded in Kenya to be Repatriated

More than 500 Italian nationals who were left stranded in Kenya in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are set to be evacuated.

The Italian government dispatched chartered planes to Kenya to fly back its citizens who are mainly stuck in the Kenyan coastal region.

11 buses were on Sunday used to ferry Italian citizens to the Moi International Airport in Mombasa from various places including Mombasa, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Kilifi and Lamu counties.

The first chartered flight carrying about 250 Italian nationals will depart Mombasa for Rome on Sunday. 

Freddy del Curatolo, the leader of the Italian community in Malindi, said his compatriots were left stranded in the country after all international flights were grounded following the coronavirus outbreak in Kenya.

Philemon Mwavala, the Chairperson of the hotel stakeholders in Watamu and Malindi termed the repatriation of the Italians as a further blow to the country’s tourism industry.