A group of rejected asylum seekers have been sent home in an operation coordinated by the Malta Police Immigration Section. 

Their return flight left Malta on Thursday morning and arrived in Ghana in the afternoon.

The government said all those on the flight were third country nationals who had arrived in Malta by boat last year. The asylum process had determined they were not eligible for international protection.

The return of irregular migrants is a result of ongoing investment in the asylum process by the Ministry for Home Affairs aimed to speed it up and increase the authorities’ efforts regarding returns, it said.

It added that such returns can only be carried out with the approval of the country of origin.

When there are no identification documents, authorities in the country of origin have to identify the migrants as nationals and issue them with a travel document.

During the flight, the migrants were escorted by police officers and a medical team. 

A substantial part of the costs related to this operation was covered by European Union funds dedicated to return operations.