200 Indonesian crew members from Costa Cruises liners anchored off the coast of Manila (Luzon Island, Philippines) were repatriated Thursday evening, July 9.
The Indonesian citizens returned home via a Garuda chartered flight departing at 7:30 p.m. from Manila which landed at 10:25 p.m. at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Java. The Indonesia Embassy team accompanied the crew members to the airport. All crew had taken the COVID PCR, coming out negative.
The repatriated Indonesian crew worked on 4 Costa Cruises ships: Costa Atlantica, Costa NeoRomantica, Costa Venezia, and Costa Serena, which have been in the waters of Manila Bay since April 2020.
The repatriation of Indonesian citizens is the result of coordination between the Costa Crociere SpA and the Indonesian Embassy in Manila and fully funded by the cruise company.
The process is also a continuation of the return of around 1,540 Indonesian citizens from different cruise ships in Manila since June 6 as a manifestation of the efforts of the government to provide maximum protection for Indonesians abroad.