GOVPH

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY ASSISTED STRANDED FILIPINO NATIONALS AT INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KOREAN AIRLINES FLIGHT KE 623)

Filipino passengers waving Philippine flags as they board their flight to the Philippines on 14 May 2020, after being stranded for almost two weeks in the transit area of Incheon International Airport.

Seoul, 17 May 2020 - The Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul wishes to inform the public that 45 of our stranded kababayans were safely repatriated to Manila on 14 May 2020 via Korean Airlines Flight KE 623.

The Embassy, as soon as it received confirmation from Korean Air that there were Filipino nationals among the stranded passengers at Incheon International Airport, coordinated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and sent a team to the airport on 4 May 2020 to meet with the stranded Filipino passengers, check on their condition and offer assistance.

Embassy officials went to the airport several times from 4 May to 14 May to provide our kababayans with assistance, including financial aid from POLO-OWWA Korea and the Philippine Embassy amounting to KRW 130,000 cash for each passenger, face masks, sanitizers, vitamins, blankets, toiletries, and meals.

Before their departure, our kababayans conveyed their gratitude to the DFA, POLO-OWWA Korea and the Philippine Embassy for their assistance. END