83 Filipinos Return from Malaysia Via Special Flight

PASAY CITY 05 April 2020 - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed 83 repatriates from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who arrived in Manila onboard Malaysia Airlines (MAS) special flight MH704 at 1:35 p.m. today.

In coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian Embassy in Manila, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) opened its Kuala Lumpur-Manila flight on 05 April 2020 as a “special flight” to give stranded Filipinos in Kuala Lumpur an opportunity to return home. The MAS plane also transported Malaysian nationals to Kuala Lumpur on its return flight.

According to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, most of the 83 repatriates are Filipinos on temporary visit passes, who became stranded after unexpected cancellations of flights from Kuala Lumpur to Manila after 18 March 2020, in light of government-imposed measures by both Malaysia and the Philippines against the spread of COVID-19.

The Bureau of Quarantine conducted a medical inspection onboard before the repatriates were allowed to disembark. END (Photos courtesy of Mr. Kenneth Pineda and DFA-OUMWA)