Vietnamese citizens waiting at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese agencies, representative agencies in Europe and Africa and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on May 23-24 coordinated with host authorities to conduct flights bringing home safely over 300 Vietnamese citizens as the movement restrictions and border closures are in place across the world intended to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementing the direction of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the passengers on the flights include children under the age of 18, tourists and business people whose visas had expired but could not leave European countries such as Germany, the UK, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and Slovakia, as well as some Vietnamese citizens stranded in African countries such as Algeria and Nigeria.

The repatriation flights were arranged to land at the Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Paris (France) airports.

Vietnamese representative agencies in Europe and Africa guided Vietnamese citizens to move to these airports, while those in the Netherlands and France sent officials to directly help citizens to complete all necessary procedures before boarding to return home. The flights ensured security, safety and preventive measures against COVID-19. After landing at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City, all passengers and crew members were given medical check-ups and quarantined in line with the country's regulations.

The flight from Hà Nội to the Netherlands carried antibacterial face masks as gifts of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Committee for External Affairs presented to the Dutch parliament.

Vietnamese agencies and representative agencies abroad will continue working with airlines to conduct commercial flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home based on their aspirations, quarantine capacity in localities nationwide, and developments of the pandemic in the country and around the world.

The foreign ministry on Facebook said there are 18 commercial flights planned during May 18-June 15 to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from 21 countries and territories. — VNS