Staff members wait for a landing plane at Wudangshan Airport in Shiyan, central China's Hubei Province, March 29, 2020. Domestic passenger flights resumed operations in Hubei Province, which was once hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic, except in the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.(Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese government has evacuated 210 Chinese nationals from Afghanistan on a charter flight to Wuhan amid a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. The evacuation mission was widely hailed by Chinese netizens.

Xiamen Airlines flight MF8008 went to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to pick up 210 Chinese citizens, the Global Times learnt from Xiamen Airlines on Thursday. The airline said it did not know if other flights will be arranged. 

The Global Times also learnt from Wuhan air traffic authorities that the charter flight was sent by the Chinese government to pick up Chinese nationals in Afghanistan.

Fifty-two on the charted flight tested positive for COVID-19, according to Hubei provincial health commission on Wednesday. Among them, 22 were confirmed and another 30 were asymptomatic. 

The evacuation mission was also confirmed by Wuhan Tianhe International Airport where the flight landed.

The charted flight was organized by the government since Wuhan Tianhe International Airport does not have any direct flight with Afghanistan, a staff from the airport told Jiankang Shibao. "The flight was arranged to designated areas at the airport. Thorough disinfections were conducted," the staff said, dismissing concerns that inbound international flight could pose infectious threats to domestic flights and passengers.

Photo: Courtesy of Xiamen Airlines

When the Hubei provincial health commission firstly reported the 52 positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, it triggered many to speculate whether the returnees were a part of an evacuation plan by the Chinese government. The speculation even became the most trending topic on Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Wednesday. 

Many netizens posted on social media that Wuhan welcomes compatriots home and "welcome back, Wuhan is the safest city in the world." 

To ensure a potential epidemic risk was strictly controlled, the employee said physical isolation facilities were put in place on board. The aircraft was also sterilized twice in Wuhan and Xiamen, the capital city of Fujian Province, a staff from the airline said. 

It was the first time the Civil Aviation Administration of China used a wide-body aircraft to fly to Kabul airport, according to Ximen Airlines.

To ensure the evacuation mission was successful, the flight crew was chosen for their experience in important flight missions such as transporting the UN peacekeeping force and several overseas evacuation missions. Before taking off, the flight crew received preparatory training especially for Kabul airport. 

Xiamen Airlines also said there were several warm episodes before the flight set off. The plane previously had set a departure date but was postponed to July 2 as a group of Chinese nationals from a province near Kabul did not make it to Kabul for the flight on time. 

When the cabin door was closed and the plane was about to set off, the flight delayed for more than one hour just to wait for a passenger who was previously unable to catch the flight but eventually made it. "It wasn't easy to arrange this flight. I cannot leave any compatriot behind," the captain said.