277 stranded Vietnamese repatriated from US

By Nguyen Quy August 25, 2021 | 01:08 am PT

Vietnamese citizens wait to board a repatriation flight from San Francisco to Hanoi, August 24, 2021. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines

A special flight arranged by the government brought home 277 Vietnamese citizens stranded in the U.S. amid Covid travel restrictions.

The Vietnam Airlines flight from San Francisco landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Wednesday morning, with all passengers quarantined on arrival and having their samples taken for Covid testing as per the Health Ministry protocol, the carrier said in a statement.

The flight also transported more than 6.2 tons of medical equipment and supplies provided by overseas Vietnamese in the U.S. to compatriots in Vietnam, currently struggling with its most challenging outbreak.

This is the second direct flight this year between Vietnam and the U.S. after the airline was licensed by the American government to operate 12 flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home.

Last year, it conducted 20 flights between Vietnam and the U.S. to serve Vietnamese citizens and U.S. experts, and to transport goods. Dozens of flights were also operated to ferry American citizens stuck in Vietnam home.

Vietnam closed its borders and canceled all international flights in March last year, and has since allowed only certain categories of visitors with strict Covid-19 quarantine requirements.