A Vietnam Airlines airplane at Vân Đồn Airport in Quảng Ninh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — More than 340 Vietnamese citizens have returned home from the US and been quarantined upon arrival, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On May 7 and 8, Vietnamese authorities and representative agencies in the US, Vietnam Airlines and relevant US agencies worked together to bring back home the citizens from San Francisco Airport.

The passengers included many children under 18 years old, a three-month-old baby, overseas students who don’t have accommodation due to dormitory closures, the elderly, the sick and those living in difficult circumstances.

Upon arriving at Vân Đồn Airport in Quảng Ninh Province, passengers and cabin crew members were quarantined.

To conduct the flight, the Vietnamese foreign ministry, Vietnamese Embassy and representative agencies in the US worked with domestic agencies and US authorities to assist the airline in completing procedures to bring home the citizens.

Many of the citizens had reportedly been stranded in San Francisco International Airport in recent times as they awaited flights to return home, with some stranded since March 22.

The Vietnamese General Consulate in San Francisco and other Vietnamese representative agencies in the US tried to assist Vietnamese citizens in terms of accommodation, travelling and pandemic prevention measures while the citizens were stranded.

The flight was Vietnam Airlines' first direct US-Viet Nam flight.

In the coming days, more flights from other countries will bring back Vietnamese citizens home depending on the pandemic's developments, quarantine space in Vietnamese localities and the demand of Vietnamese citizens living overseas.

The US has reported more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases and upwards of 76,000 deaths. Viet Nam has recorded 288 cases and zero deaths. — VNS