Vietnamese citizens completing flight procedures at Heathrow International Airport, London, UK. — VNA/VNS Photo Đình Thư

HÀ NỘI — Nearly 280 citizens were repatriated from European countries on a flight of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on August 6-7.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK, representative agencies in some European nations and the national flag carrier, together with competent agencies of the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

The passengers included children under 18, students who finished their studies with expired visas or without accommodations, pregnant women, the elderly, the ill, stranded tourists and workers.

The Vietnamese representative agencies helped citizens travel to airports in London and Frankfurt while the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK and the General Consulate in Germany also sent staff to the airports to assist them with boarding procedures.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, disease prevention measures were carried out during the flight. Upon landing at Vân Đồn International Airport in the north-eastern province of Quảng Ninh, the flight crew and all passengers were given heath examinations and quarantined in line with regulations.

Vietnamese authorities and overseas missions plan to arrange more flights to bring more Vietnamese citizens home, depending on their need and quarantine capacity at home.

On Thursday the foreign ministry said since the beginning of the pandemic, about 21,000 Vietnamese citizens stranded abroad have been repatriated from 50 countries and territories. — VNS