National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has flied 12 Vietnamese citizens stranded in Japan back home on a flight on April 12, according to an representative of the airline.

Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)

The flight VN311 departed Tokyo at 8:00am (Vietnam time), heading to Hanoi, as a joint effort among Vietnam Airlines, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan and Japanese authorities.

On board of the flight were a group of Vietnamese passengers who have stuck at Narita International Airport for 10 days due to Japan’s entry restrictions for fear of COVID-19 and airlines temporarily halt flights to Vietnam. There were also Vietnamese people with difficulties supported by the embassy to return home.

Flight VN311 is a freight flight and only carries passengers in case of emergency. All of its crew members were equipped with full personal protective suits while the passengers underwent medical checks before boarding the flight and were required to wear masks during the journey.

All the passengers will be transferred to a centralised quarantine area while disinfection of aircraft will be immediately implemented right after the airplane lands in Hanoi.

The representative said relevant Vietnamese agencies and the airline have been closely coordinating to conduct more flights to bring more Vietnamese citizens home in the coming time.