80 Overseas Koreans Including Those in Iran Return by Charter Flight... Arriving at Incheon Airport on the Afternoon of the 19th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Eighty overseas Koreans from Iran boarded a charter flight to return home.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 19th, 80 people, including 74 Korean residents in Iran and 6 family members with Iranian nationality, departed from Tehran, Iran on the 18th (local time). They are scheduled to arrive at Incheon Airport at 4:30 PM on the same day after transiting through Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Due to U.S. sanctions, Iran's national airline could not fly directly, so they used Iran Air from Tehran to Dubai and then transferred to an Asiana Airlines passenger flight in Dubai. This is the first time a charter flight evacuation has been conducted for overseas nationals of a specific country.

After arriving in Korea, the overseas nationals and their families will stay for about 1 to 2 days at the KOICA Training Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to undergo COVID-19 testing. If the test results are negative, they will self-quarantine for 14 days.

The Iran charter flight was originally scheduled to be deployed last week but was delayed due to prolonged government negotiations.

Meanwhile, as of noon on the 18th (local time), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iran was 17,361, with 1,135 deaths reported.

Previously, the government transported overseas nationals from Wuhan and Korean passengers aboard a Japanese cruise ship using charter flights and the presidential aircraft.

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