Over 350 Vietnamese citizens stranded in Japan due the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were brought home safely on August 14 on a flight conducted by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and both nations' authorities.

Passengers on board were mostly children aged below 18, the elderly, pregnant women, the sick, workers whose labour contracts expired, those without residences and other especially disadvantaged cases.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan sent staff to support the citizens at the airport with all necessary procedures.

After touching dowan at Cam Ranh International Airport in the south central province of Khanh Hoa, crewmembers and passengers  were given heath checkups and were immediately placed into quarantine in line with regulations regarding COVID-19 prevention and control.                    

In the near future, similar repatriation flights will be arranged to bring home disadvantaged citizens, with domestic pandemic situation and quarantine capacity taken into account.