Charter Flight Carrying Wuhan Residents Arrives at Gimpo Airport... 18 People Show Fever Symptoms (Comprehensive)

368 People Return by Charter Flight
350 Asymptomatic Individuals Quarantined in Asan and Jincheon After Transfer

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 (Gimpo) Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] A tense atmosphere prevailed at Gimpo Airport on the 31st, where 368 Korean residents and students from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and nearby areas arrived on a government-chartered flight. Among the arriving Koreans, 18 showed fever symptoms and were transported to the National Medical Center and Chung-Ang University Hospital.

The Korean Air KE9884 Boeing 747 passenger plane, which departed Wuhan City, the origin of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), at 6:03 a.m. that day, arrived at Gimpo Airport at around 7:58 a.m. One Korean resident who had gathered at Wuhan Airport was unable to board due to symptoms detected in a preliminary inspection by Chinese authorities.

About 40 minutes after the chartered flight arrived, at around 8:40 a.m., Korean residents began disembarking one by one, starting with a passenger presumed to be a family. Wearing casual clothes and masks, the Koreans carried small suitcases and backpacks. After disembarking onto the apron via the boarding bridge, they underwent temperature checks at a makeshift table set up in front of a tent and also filled out brief documents presumed to be health questionnaires.

After completing the related procedures, the Koreans boarded remote buses (airport shuttle buses) operated by Korean Air (Korea Airport) and moved to a separate area. During this process, fever symptoms were detected in a total of 18 people. Twelve showed symptoms on the aircraft, and the remaining six were found during the quarantine stage. Among them, 14 were transported to the National Medical Center, a quarantine medical institution, and four were taken to Chung-Ang University Hospital.

The rest of the Koreans were generally calm but appeared somewhat tired, likely due to the urgent situation and long waiting times. A related official who boarded the chartered flight said, "Boarding at Wuhan Airport was generally carried out in a very calm atmosphere," adding, "Since symptomatic individuals were not allowed to board, the quarantined Koreans boarded the chartered flight one or two at a time, and most fell asleep as soon as they sat down, probably due to fatigue."

The rapid response team also entered the country on the chartered flight. Lee Tae-ho, Vice Foreign Minister, met with reporters at Gimpo Airport that morning and said, "The Koreans were orderly and well-organized, and there were no particular problems on board," adding, "The schedule for the second chartered flight has not yet been finalized."

Korean Air officials, including Chairman Cho Won-tae of Hanjin Group who was on board the chartered flight, as well as flight attendants, boarded separate vehicles and underwent designated quarantine procedures. They wore protective suits during the flight to prepare for any possible infection. Although Chairman Cho had no specific role, he reportedly continuously monitored the overall situation as the person responsible for the flight.

Meanwhile, the 368 passengers who arrived at Gimpo Airport that day were separated by bus and quarantined at two locations: the Police Human Resources Development Institute in Asan City, Chungnam Province, and the National Civil Service Human Resources Development Institute in Jincheon County, Chungbuk Province. Six police buses carrying some Koreans without symptoms left Gimpo Airport at around 10:50 a.m. that day. A total of 30 police buses will operate in five groups of six buses each.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.