THE body of Alex Salmond will be flown home to Scotland on Friday, the Alba Party have confirmed.
An unnamed private individual has paid for a chartered flight to repatriate the body of the party’s leader from North Macedonia, which is expected to land in Aberdeen.
Salmond died aged 69 after suffering a heart attack in the city of Ohrid on Saturday, where he was attending a conference.
Members of Salmond's family and Kenny MacAskill, Alba's acting leader, will meet the flight, before a cortege travels to the former first minister's home village of Strichen.
A statement from Alba said: "The private plane which has been chartered to bring Alex Salmond home will leave Ohrid St Paul the Apostle Airport (OHD) at an estimated time of departure of 11:00 hrs (North Macedonia) landing in Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) at an expected time of arrival of 13:45 hrs.
"The carrier is Airline AIR X. The aircraft is an Embraer Legacy 600. The Aircraft registration is 9H-JPC. The Flight number: AXY4769."
It is understood STV will provide broadcast footage of the plane's arrival and of the coffin as it comes off the plane.
MacAskill said: “The family are incredibly grateful for the support which is being provided by a private citizen to charter a private plane to allow Alex’s body to come home to Scotland.
“It brings a great deal of comfort to Moira and other members of the family to know that he will soon be home with them.
“The family have asked that their privacy be respected at this time and will be making an announcement in due course about the funeral arrangements and a memorial service to honour the life of Alex Salmond.”
MacAskill also expressed the Salmond family’s appreciation to the North Macedonian Government, for “expediting” the process of releasing Salmond’s body and the Scottish and UK Governments for their work in securing his repatriation.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said it is prepared to offer further help if necessary.
“Over the last few days, the Scottish Government and UK Government have been engaging with Alex Salmond’s family and working closely together in accordance with their wishes, to ensure the swift and dignified repatriation of the former first minister to Scotland,” a statement said.
“Having explored a number of options, the family have now made arrangements for this to take place with the support of a private citizen.
“The Scottish Government continues to engage with Mr Salmond’s family, and we stand ready to offer further advice and support, should it be required.”
