Just thirteen deportation flights in 2010

In answer to the parliamentary question put by Senator Karl Vanlouwe (N-VA) it appears that only thirteen deportation flights were carried out in 2010. Seventy-three people were taken back to their country of origin on “accompanied flights”. “As for “secured flights”, they are specially chartered to remove illegal immigrants who are difficult to escort back to their country of origin. Out of the thirteen “secured flights” in 2010, eight landed in other Schengen countries; seven flights flew to Greece (one flight then continued to Hungary) and one flew to Poland. Three flights landed in Nigeria and Cameroon and two in the Congo. Each of these “secured flights” is used to return between one and eight persons at a time to their land of origin. This makes the flights an extremely expensive and ineffective measure. The N-VA is therefore calling for closer cooperation with other European countries (including those in the Frontex framework) to find a simpler and more effective way of removing illegal immigrants using secured flights.