172 repatriated passengers arrive from New Zealand [1]
Friday, October 30, 2020 - 18:23
A repatriation flight to Tonga from Auckland, New Zealand with 172 passengers arrived at Fua’amotu International Airport this afternoon, 30 October.
This is the second repatriation flight this week returning stranded passengers and seasonal workers.
Acting Deputy Police Commissioner ‘Atunaisa Taumoepeau said the stranded passengers were mainly elderly.
He said the flight also carried the largest number of passengers repatriated to Tonga to date.
Sixty passengers are now in quarantine at Makeke Camp, while the remaining passengers are in quarantine at the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel.
Meanwhile, two further repatriation flights are planned from Brisbane, Australia on 18 November, and from Auckland, New Zealand on 19 November.
More repatriation flights are also planned for December and January.
To date, a total of 671 people have been repatriated to Tonga from Fiji, New Zealand, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Australia, including 1 person who disembarked from a fishing vessel.