PH Embassy in Seoul Assists 537 Filipinos with Special Flights to Manila

Second Secretary and Consul Ella Karina Mitra (fourth from left) and Labor Attaché Ma. Celeste Valderrama (second from left) with the departing Filipino passengers onboard Korean Air special flight KE 623. (Seoul PE photo)

SEOUL 09 July 2020 – A total of 537 overseas Filipinos joined the two special passenger flights – Korean Air KE 623 and Asiana Airlines OZ 703 – arranged by the Philippine Embassy in Seoul from Incheon to Manila on 07 July 2020.

To date, the Embassy, with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other partner government agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Manila International Airport Authorities (MIAA), in cooperation with Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, has arranged a total of seven special passenger flights and facilitated the return of 1,269 stranded overseas Filipinos.

Philippine Embassy officials were at the Incheon International Airport to assist the departing overseas Filipinos. They likewise briefed the passengers on the health protocols upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Moreover, as in the past, the Embassy also distributed vitamins and face masks, courtesy of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), to all departing passengers.

According to Charge d’Affaires, a.i. Christian L. De Jesus, the Embassy will continue to render vital assistance to overseas Filipinos in South Korea who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including sending them home to their loved ones back in the Philippines.

“For as long as the flights from Incheon to Manila remain intermittent, and for as long as there are overseas Filipinos who are stranded here in Korea, the Embassy will continue to arrange special passenger flights. It is our commitment to our kababayans here,“ Charge d’Affaires De Jesus said. END

Welfare Officer Aniceta Deuna and Assistance-To-Nationals Officer Glenn Corpin with the Filipino passengers on the Asiana Airlines special flight OZ 703. (Seoul PE photo)

Welfare Officer Aniceta Deuna briefs the departing overseas Filipinos on the health protocols upon arrival at NAIA. (Seoul PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.seoulpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassy-seoul.com or https://www.facebook.com/PHinKorea/.