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Evacuation and repatriation of UK and Irish nationals on the cruise ship quarantined, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) was by the aviation services group Air Partner plc.
The FCO required security screening of passengers and their baggage in Tokyo before they could board the flight to the UK. Air Partner Group says it worked with the FCO, the operating airline, the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) and the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority to obtain the numerous authorisations and approvals needed to complete the project on time.
Air Partnerโs Group Charter arm chartered a Boeing 747-400 to carry out the flight from Tokyo Haneda to Boscombe Down in the UK. The upper deck was designated for crew rest only, to segregate the evacuees and the flight crew. A separate section in the nose of the aircraft could be used as an isolation zone for passengers.
Redline Assured Security, Air Partnerโs recently acquired safety and security division, endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the UK Department for Transport (DFT), worked with the FCO on security clearances and the security screening of passengers and their baggage in Tokyo.
Redline reports that it mobilised its rapid deployment team (RDT) within two hours of the project go-ahead and arranged for them to be deployed to Tokyo on a positioning flight from Madrid on February 20, with the necessary scanning equipment. Meanwhile the Groupโs Freight arm had worked alongside Redline to charter a Metroliner freighter to transport the equipment from Redlineโs National Security Training Centre at Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Madrid. The operatives wore protective clothing at all times.
The evacuation flight departed Tokyo Haneda at 07:57 on Friday, February 21 (local time) and arrived into Boscombe Down in Wiltshire at 11:41 on Saturday, February 22 (local time), carrying 32 passengers.
Mark Briffa, CEO at Air Partner, said: โUnfortunately, the spread of coronavirus has continued at pace and our thoughts remain with everyone affected. We were pleased that we could play a role in the FCOโs mission to swiftly and safely repatriate British and Irish nationals quarantined on the cruise ship in Japan. Our Group Charter and Safety & Security divisions were in a unique position to deliver a fully-integrated solution to make this happen. This was a multifaceted and time sensitive project and I am immensely proud of the work our colleagues undertook to ensure 32 UK and Irish nationals onboard the ship could return to the UK. By offering this holistic solution, which combines Charter and Safety & Security, with appropriate international accreditations and approvals in place, we are ideally placed to meet our customersโ diverse aviation requirements in fast-moving crisis situations. We continue to work with customers to provide our range of aviation services in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and remain on standby to assist in any way we can.โ
The Yokohama cruise ship evacuation follows earlier work by Air Partner; it flew medical supplies to Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, and evacuated 300 British and EU nationals from the Chinese city.
Webinar
Meanwhile the medical and security emergency contractors International SOS have a webinar on pandemic planning of EU member states, preparedness in countries beyond Europe, and precautionary measures such as the use of face masks.
For foreign Office travel advice, visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus.
