Filipino seafarers from AIDAaura, AIDAcara and AIDAmar prepare to check in for their flight to Manila at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
Seafarers from six AIDA cruise ships line up at the departure gate of Frankfurt airport while waiting to board their chartered flights to Manila.
The Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt assisted in the repatriation of 690 Filipino seafarers transiting in Frankfurt, Germany to Manila on 02 May 2020.
The latest batch of repatriates was composed of 115 crew from AIDAaura, AIDAcara, and AIDAmar who signed off while their ships were docked at the German Port of Hamburg. They were joined by 575 seafarers from AIDAnova, AIDAmira, and AIDAstela who flew in from Tenerife, Spain for transit in Frankfurt Airport.
The successful repatriation was coordinated by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt, Philippine Overseas Labor Office-Berlin (POLO-Berlin), Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, and AIDA Cruises, the shipping company which chartered three flights to bring home the seafarers.
To date, more than 19,000 seafarers have been repatriated to the Philippines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.