The 2nd Charter Flight Carrying Wuhan Residents Departs Gimpo Airport... Scheduled to Arrive Early Morning on the 1st

A Korean Air charter flight carrying Korean residents from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, where the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) occurred, arrived at Gimpo International Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 31st. The residents are lined up to board buses. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The second charter flight carrying Korean residents from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the origin of the novel coronavirus infection, and nearby areas departed from Gimpo Airport on the 31st.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government’s second rapid response team boarded Korean Air flight KE 9883, a Boeing 747 passenger plane, which took off from Gimpo Airport at 9:18 PM, later than scheduled. The Wuhan residents also used the same passenger plane during the first repatriation. The aircraft was reintroduced after undergoing ventilation and disinfection procedures.

The second charter flight is scheduled to return to Gimpo Airport in the early morning of the 1st of next month, carrying about 350 residents excluding the 368 who returned on the first flight. The government rapid response team, consisting of Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff, medical personnel, and quarantine officers, will assist with the quarantine procedures for the residents.

Earlier, Lee Sang-jin, head of the second government rapid response team and Director of the Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at Gimpo Airport, "In the second flight, we will ensure a safer and faster return through quicker quarantine procedures than the first."

The first charter flight departed from Wuhan Tianhe Airport at 6:03 AM, later than originally scheduled, due to the quarantine process by the Chinese side. The entire second flight is scheduled to depart from Tianhe Airport at 2:45 AM on the 1st of next month.

Director Lee explained, "Although the expected number of passengers on the second charter flight is about 350, this may change depending on local circumstances. Since some passengers are coming from the outskirts of Wuhan, we will do our best to accommodate as many of them as possible."

After returning, passengers will undergo a second quarantine and be quarantined for two weeks at the Chungnam Asan Police Human Resources Development Institute and the Jincheon National Civil Service Human Resources Development Institute.