COVID-19 Complicates Body Repatriation from Belgium to Morocco and Tunisia

According to Greta Plas, the manager of Mortuary Brussels Airport, the repatriation operations of bodies of people who died from COVID-19 is a real challenge at the moment when bans are multiplying.

According to her, the repatriation center based at Zaventem airport, owned by the Dela group, is no longer able to transfer remains to Morocco or Tunisia. "It is also difficult for the people who wanted to repatriate their loved ones to their country of origin," said Greta Plas.

Repatriations of COVID-19 victims to Belgium are more complicated. "Spain no longer wanted us to do it, but it is now possible again. We have organized repatriations of victims from Italy, Romania, the Netherlands or the United States in recent days. It is really very complicated to set up because we now have to rely on the few flights that are still possible," explains the manager.

She also confided that the remains of other Belgians who died abroad, during organized tourist trips before the lockdown, are stuck in certain countries. "We have a repatriation blocked in the Dominican Republic, and another one pending in the Caribbean," said Greta Plas.