Coronavirus: 84 more passengers from Diamond Princess return to Hong Kong on second flight, but blunder forces 18 to pay for their own evacuation
- Government-chartered flight from Japan lands at Hong Kong airport at 1.30am, taking total number of evacuees to 190
- 18 city residents mistaken for close contacts of the infected end up paying for their own flights back
Eighteen cruise ship passengers had to buy their own tickets home from their coronavirus ordeal in Japan after they were barred from a government-chartered flight, which landed in Hong Kong early on Saturday with 84 evacuees on board.
The second airlift of residents stranded on the Diamond Princess cruise ship from February 4 arrived at about 1.30am after a mix-up delayed take-off by four hours.
Director of Immigration Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said the Japanese authorities halted the evacuation on Friday afternoon in the mistaken belief some passengers initially given the all-clear to leave the country were close contacts of the infected.
The airline said the flight was so delayed a decision had to be made either to cancel it or turn away the 17 at the boarding gate, according to Tsang.
Speaking to the media in the early hours of Saturday, Tsang said: “Eventually, without much option, we decided to let the rest of the travellers leave first.”
The 18 passengers having to make their own way home were erroneously stopped back at Yokohama port, where the coronavirus-stricken ship is docked.