Chartering Flights

(Wuhan) As of January 23, when the Chinese city of Wuhan was under lock-down to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, more than a thousand Koreans were unable to leave the city. Until that point, there had not been a single case of chartering flights to evacuate Koreans from the threat of an infectious diseases. Also, since the number of confirmed cases in Korea was posting single digits around that time, many voiced concern that the novel virus could spread from people coming into the country.

Nevertheless, the Korean government decided to send chartered planes to repatriate its nationals in Wuhan. After negotiating with the Chinese government, the government sent chartered planes to Wuhan three times

— on January 30, January 31, and February 11 — and brought 848 Koreans back home. Although some were identified as confirmed cases while going through immigration or while in quarantine at related facilities, the Korean government assigned the National Medical Center, the Central Infectious Disease Hospital to designate care units and thoroughly carried out necessary measures, thereby dispelling the public’s initial concerns about the trans-mission of the virus within the country.

Key Sectors inKorea’s Response to COVID-19

(Yokohama) As there was an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port, the Korean government decided to dispatch the presidential plane with five members from the Rapid Deployment Team on February 19 and helped 14 Korean passengers and sailors on the ship disembark and return home. Although it was a small number of people, the Korean government took action to bring back the seven people wishing to return home as the virus was spreading on the ship.

(Iran) With the ongoing spread of COVID-19, Iran was suffering from the challenges of poor healthcare services and severe shortages in hygiene products, including face masks and hand sanitizers, in part because flights to and from neighboring countries had virtually stopped and the country had been placed under lockdown for an extended period. At the time, however, Korea was also struggling with the spread of the virus. Some with severe symptoms died, and the number of confirmed cases was surging, mainly in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.

On March 18, the Korean government decided to send chartered flights to evacuate 80 nationals from Iran. First, 80 nationals who wanted to return home were transported from Teheran to Dubai on a local flight and then flown to Incheon on a chartered flight. Two officials from the Korean Embassy in Iran accompanied the returnees on the Teheran-Dubai flight, while nine members from the Korean government’s Rapid Deployment Team were on board on the Dubai-Incheon flight to prevent in-flight infection. This showed the Korean government’s dedication to bringing its nationals back home safely.

(Peru) Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, countries around the world started to take measures to restrict the entry of travelers, such as closing their borders and suspending international flights, which meant more and more Korean nationals were unable to leave these countries. Even in countries in Latin America, which had been considered as relatively safe, the spread of

All About Korea’s Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 was accelerating as the temperatures fell. The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency and sealed all its borders to try and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Since all international flights into Peru were suspended and movement within the country was also prohibited, Korean nationals traveling in Peru ended up stranded across many parts of the country. The Korean govern-ment consulted with the Peruvian governgovern-ment on bringing Korean nationals back home and decided to first transport Korean nationals from different parts of the country to one place in buses and then transfer them to Lima, the capital of Peru, on a local chartered flight. On March 26, 198 Korean nationals were able to fly back home from Lima to Incheon assisted by two officials from the Korean Embassy in Peru and KOICA.

(Italy) As the risk of infection was growing in Italy, many Koreans residing in Milan and Rome wished to return to Korea. Led by the Korean community, the Koreans in Italy had been making preparations to return to Korea, but domestic airliners were reluctant to sign a contract directly with the Korean community without the mediation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to the risk of in-flight infection and complexities in quarantine measures upon arrival.

(left) Koreans returning from Wuhan (center) Koreans returning from Yokohama (right) Koreans returning from Iran

Key Sectors inKorea’s Response to COVID-19

To solve the situation, the Korean government directly contacted a Korean airliner to support the repatriation of its nationals in Italy. A team consisting of seven members from the government’s Rapid Deployment Team was dispatched to bring back 309 nationals on March 30 and 205 nationals on March 31 (113 from Rome and 92 from Milan).

(Iraq) In the middle of July, 40% percent of the Korean workers who had returned home from Iraq tested positive for COVID-19. By that time, two Korean workers died from coronavirus in Iraq.

In an attempt to help Koreans who remained in Iraq to work at construction sites safely return home and prevent them from causing secondary infections on their way home, the Korean government decided to deploy special aircrafts to Iraq.

The government dispatched two KC-330 air refueling tankers and a Rapid Deployment Team.

On July 25, a total of 293 Korean workers safely arrived at Incheon Inter-national Airport and were transported to temporary quarantine facilities for diagnostic testing and 14-day quarantine.