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Qantas flight carrying Kiwis from virus-stricken cruise ship in Japan lands in Darwin

February 20, 2020

The Qantas flight includes Australians and is heading to Darwin.

The Qantas charter flight carrying New Zealanders and Australians who were stuck on the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan has landed in Darwin.

Eight Kiwis were registered to board the flight from Japan, however two people tested positive to coronavirus during a mandatory pre-flight health screening and remain in hospital in Japan. Six successfully boarded. 

The New Zealanders will now be transferred back home on another flight and face a further 14-days in quarantine at a military base in Whangaparāoa, north of Auckland. Their flight is expected to land at Whenuapai at around 7pm tonight from Darwin. 

A large group of Australians also on the flight have arrived at their final stop for two more weeks in quarantine.

Some 180 citizens and permanent residents had taken up the federal government's offer of a seat on the evacuation flight, which left Haneda Airport near Yokohama in the early hours of Thursday morning.

There have been 15 confirmed cases of the disease in Australia. Eight people recovered and the rest are in stable conditions.

So far there have been more than 75,200 cases worldwide and 2009 people have died. Almost all of the deaths were in China.

With AAP

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