Paris airport: Algerian passengers from UK stranded for weeks

Twenty-six Algerians returning home from the UK have been stuck in transit at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for the past three weeks. The group, which includes two young girls and a 75-year-old woman, flew from Heathrow Airport on 26 February. In Paris they were told by Air Algeria they could not continue their journey, reportedly because of Covid measures. They have since been living rough in the transit area of Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle. The Algerian embassy in Paris said that the airline had informed everyone ahead of the flight that their tickets had been cancelled after the UK-Kent Covid variant was detected in Algeria on 25 February. According to one of the passengers, some members of the group have British passports while others are UK residents or have a valid UK visa. One woman's visa had expired, he said, and another was being sent back to Algeria as an illegal immigrant. They all had urgent reasons to fly back, with some visiting sick relatives. Story has more.<br/>