Egypt’s Cairo International Airport is set to receive 23 special flights from Europe and other international destinations on Friday to repatriate citizens stranded abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Airport sources told Al-Ahram Arabic website that the flights, carrying a total of 3,346 Egyptians, would arrive from London, Moscow, Frankfurt, China, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Beirut.

The airport will also receive four domestic flights from the Red Sea resort city of Marsa Alam after the conclusion of the quarantine period of around 400 Egyptian returnees from abroad.

This follows a decision on Wednesday to scrap the system of placing returnees in hotels repurposed for quarantine in the Red Sea resort town, replacing it with home quarantine.

Instead of being quarantined in repurposed hotels, university dorms, or student hostels, returnees will instead be required to self-quarantine at home for two weeks as a precaution against the virus.

Egypt suspended international flights at its airports in March, although cargo and domestic flights are continuing.

Specially organised repatriation flights have brought home at least 12,000 Egyptians so far.

Limited flights have also been operated to a few international destinations, with EgyptAir announcing a special flight to Frankfurt on Friday.

Egypt is considering a “gradual resumption” of international flights in the second half of June or first half of July, cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said earlier this week,

The cabinet’s coronavirus committee is set to hold a meeting next week in which they will discuss the resumption of flights.