Chartered flights bringing back students from US

Chartered flights to transport Chinese students in the United States back to the motherland have begun operating.

The first two chartered flights organized by the Chinese embassy in the US took off from two major cities in the country during the past weekend, bringing about 400 teenagers back home amid coronavirus pandemic.

One flight operated by China Southern Airlines departed New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday, with about 200 students on board. It landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangdong province.

The other flight, also on Saturday, was operated by China Eastern Airlines and flew 186 teenagers from the novel

San Francisco International Airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The flights were operated only five days after the Chinese embassy started gauging the demand of teenage Chinese students in the US to return home.

A statement released by the embassy on April 6 said that at present, most Chinese students are living near their schools in the US.

And Chinese authorities are arranging chartered flights for teenage students, especially those under age 18, who wanted to return to China.

Priority for the flights was given to the youngest students.

The statement reiterated that passengers should be underage students who are not accompanied by parents. Guardians or relatives were not allowed to embark.

The statement said the cost of the airfares and forced quarantines would be borne by each student. According to a post on Chinese social media site Weibo, the ticket price for the chartered flight from New York to Guangzhou was 36,117 yuan ($5,110), and a Caixin news report said the flight from San Francisco to Shanghai cost 23,448 yuan ($3,318).

Representatives of China Eastern Airlines told caijing.com that the flight from San Francisco to Shanghai had 314 seats, but only 186 were sold, including 138 in economy class and 48 in business class.

In a video clip on Weibo, the students aged under 18 were seen wearing protective suits while waiting in line at JFK Airport on Saturday.

According to another statement by the embassy on April 3, about 90 percent of Chinese students in the US have chosen to stay to continue their studies.

Only three students were confirmed to have been infected by the coronavirus. One of them has recovered, and the other two are receiving medical treatment.