Coronavirus: Australian evacuation flight from Wuhan delayed, no ‘official clearance’ for Darwin-bound plane
- Australian nationals were expected to leave the Chinese city on Saturday morning before being taken to a mining camp for quarantine for 14 days
- But after arriving at the airport, passengers were told ‘official clearance for the charter flight to land’ had not been received
A second direct Australian government flight to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan – the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak – has been delayed.
Eligible passengers had received confirmation of an “assisted departure” on an plane operated by Australian flag carrier Qantas, with a check-in time of 6pm on Friday. The flight was expected to leave for Australia at 12.15am on Saturday morning.
But after arriving at the airport in Wuhan, passengers were told “official clearance for the charter flight to land” had not been received. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, though, said they expected the flight to leave on Saturday.
The Northern Territory Government had earlier confirmed that the Manigurr-ma accommodation village at Howard Springs would host approximately 280 Australians for 14 days as a “precautionary measure”.
“The selected site will be a declared isolation zone under the Notifiable Diseases Act – that means any movement in or out is strictly controlled and enforceable by law. The facility encompasses accommodations, designated internal isolation zones if required, commercial kitchen and recreation facilities are all available,” said the statement.