EIGHTY-SIX Malaysians will be flown from Cairo, Egypt, on a Brunei-chartered plane to Bandar Seri Begawan tomorrow.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaffar said the group will be brought home via a special Malaysia Airlines flight that is expected to land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 11.25am the same day.

“Taking into account the special bilateral relations between Malaysia and Brunei, the government has agreed to send back 142 Brunei citizens stranded in Malaysia on the same Malaysia Airlines aircraft,” he said on his social media accounts.

He added that 18 Malaysians who are stranded in the Maldives will be brought back in a joint effort with Weststar Aviation.

He expressed gratitude to the local airline for covering the cost of the flight.

The number of Malaysians stranded overseas has risen to 3,616 in 58 countries, he said, adding this was expected as more nations impose travel restrictions to stem the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said India has the highest number of stranded Malaysians at 1,988. – Bernama, March 28, 2020.