Police sent 46 asylum seekers with a rented aircraft to Lebanon

OSLO. Politiets utlendingsenhet.Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

For the first time in five years the police have chartered a plane to return asylum seekers to Lebanon.

The flight left last Thursday and was the first from Norway to Lebanon since 2011.
The deportation was also the largest ever to Lebanon from a Schengen country, said the Police Immigration Service in a statement.
38 of the 46 asylum seekers had been granted financial support to re-establish themselves in their homeland. The remaining eight were forced returns.
– When traveling with assisted return, you get a better opportunity to say goodbye and even plan the return journey, than by being forcibly returned.
One can also contact the PU for help to book tickets home and travel on their own, says section leader Håvard Johnsen Stream in PU.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today