Coronavirus: 1,000 Algerians Stranded At Istanbul Airport

Over a thousand Algerian nationals are left stranded at the Istanbul Airport in Turkey due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, this is according to the management of the airport.

The Algerian nationals are stranded at the airport because the Government of Algeria is refusing them back into the country, IGA Airport Operations states.

According to a tweet by the operator, “We, as IGA, Turkish Red Crescent, Turkish Airlines and Havas (bus company) have been trying to satisfy the humanitarian needs and requirements of over 1,000 Algerian visitors for several days now.

“The Turkish government has been making efforts for a week now to persuade the Algerian government to grant landing rights for the affected flights.”

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Algeria's reluctance to let its citizens back into the country is a corollary of the surge in the number of COVID-19 infections in the country; Algeria currently has a total number of 201 recorded infections, with 17 deaths, while Turkey has a total of 1,872 infections, with 44 deaths recorded.