Repatriation flights

Aviation Notable Activity
1

Has anyone compiled a list of repatriation and medical supply flights for late February, March or early April 2020, especially those operating on notable routes or routes not usually flown?

LATAM

LAN1117 and LAN1118

LATAM ran LAN1117 taking people from SCTE/PMC to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1117/history/20200318/0900Z/SCTE/YSSY

LATAM ran LAN1118 taking people from YSSY/SYD to NTAA/PPT to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1118/history/20200328/2310Z/YSSY/NTAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1118/history/20200329/0720Z/NTAA/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1117 and LAN1118

LATAM ran LAN1117 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1117/history/20200326/1925Z/SCEL/YSSY

LATAM ran LAN1118 taking people from YSSY/SYD to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1118/history/20200404/2200Z/YSSY/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1119 and LAN1120

LATAM ran LAN1119 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1119/history/20200321/0500Z/SCEL/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1119/history/20200326/2000Z/SCEL/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1119/history/20200330/0430Z/SCEL/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1119/history/20200402/0430Z/SCEL/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1119/history/20200419/0720Z/SCEL/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1119/history/20200427/0600Z/SCEL/YSSY

LATAM ran LAN1120 taking people from YSSY/SYD to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200315/0200Z/YSSY/SCEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200320/0820Z/YSSY/SCEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200323/0011Z/YSSY/SCEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200328/2010Z/YSSY/SCEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200401/0220Z/YSSY/SCEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200421/0310Z/YSSY/SCEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1120/history/20200429/0450Z/YSSY/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1173

LATAM ran LAN1173 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YMML/MEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1173/history/20200409/0110Z/SCEL/YMML

LATAM

LAN1164

LATAM ran LAN1164 taking people from YSSY/SYD to NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200315/2115Z/YSSY/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200316/0225Z/NZAA/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1163

LATAM ran LAN1163 taking people from SCEL/SCL to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1163/history/20200414/0452Z/SCEL/NZAA

LATAM

LAN1164

LATAM ran LAN1164 taking people from NZAA/AKL to YSSY/SYD to SCEL/SCL the second leg was cancelled.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200415/2310Z/NZAA/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200417/0410Z/YSSY/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1163 and LAN1164

LATAM ran LAN1163 taking people from SCEL/SCL to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1163/history/20200429/1510Z/SCEL/NZAA

LATAM ran LAN1164 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200501/0810Z/NZAA/SCEL

QANTAS

QFA7027 and QFA7028

QANTAS ran QFA7027 taking people from YSSY/SYD to SPJC/LIM
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA7027/history/20200412/0100Z/YSSY/SPJC

QANTAS ran QFA7028 taking people from SPJC/LIM to YBBN/BNE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA7028/history/20200413/1610Z/SPJC/YBBN

QANTAS

QFA7027 and QFA7028

QANTAS ran QFA7027 taking people from YMML/MEL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA7027/history/20200424/0110Z/YMML/SAEZ

QANTAS ran QFA7028 taking people from SAEZ/EZE to YMML/MEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA7028/history/20200425/1700Z/SAEZ/YMML

QANTAS

QFA7025 and QFA7026

QANTAS ran QFA7025 taking people from YMML/MEL to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA7025/history/20200428/0100Z/YMML/FAOR

QANTAS ran QFA7026 taking people from FAOR/JNB to YMML/MEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/QFA7026/history/20200429/1830Z/FAOR/YMML

SAA

SAA2224 and SAA2225

SAA ran SAA2224 taking people from FACT/CPT to SBGR/GRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2224/history/20200406/1729Z/FACT/SBGR

SAA ran SAA2225 taking people from SBGR/GRU to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2225/history/20200408/0304Z/SBGR/FAOR

SAA

SAA2280 and SAA2281

SAA ran SAA2280 taking people from FACT/CPT to YPPH/PER
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2280/history/20200428/1455Z/FACT/YPPH

SAA ran SAA2281 taking people from YPPH/PER to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2281/history/20200430/0900Z/YPPH/FAOR

There must be many other flights operating on routes not usually flown. What else has been discovered?

2

QFA7028 IS IN the air enroute from EZE to MEL.

1 Like
3

QFA7025 is en route from MEL to JNB.

Later the same day:
SAA2280 is en route from CPT to PER.

Next day:
QFA7026 is en route from JNB to MEL.

Another day:
SAA2281 is en route from PER to JNB.

4

Repatriation flights seem to have tailed off by the beginning of May 2020.

A small number continued.

SAA

SAA2288 and SAA2289

SAA2288

SAA ran SAA2288 taking people from FAOR/JNB to WADD/DPS
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2288/history/20200506/1300Z/FAOR/WADD

SAA2289

SAA ran SAA2289 taking people from WADD/DPS to WIII/CGK to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2289/history/20200508/0326Z/WADD/WIII
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2289/history/20200508/0540Z/WIII/FAOR

SAA

SAA2284 and SAA2285

SAA2284

SAA ran SAA2284 taking people from FAOR/JNB to VTBS/BKK
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2284/history/20200506/1400Z/FAOR/VTBS

SAA2285

SAA ran SAA2285 taking people from VTBS/BKK to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2285/history/20200508/0310Z/VTBS/FAOR

Air New Zealand

ANZ6196 and ANZ6199

ANZ6196

ANZ ran ANZ6196 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6196/history/20200508/0642Z/NZAA/SAEZ

ANZ ran ANZ6196 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6196/history/20200509/1834Z/NZAA/SAEZ

ANZ ran ANZ6196 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6196/history/20200512/0529Z/NZAA/SAEZ

ANZ6199

ANZ ran ANZ6199 taking people from SAEZ/EZE to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6199/history/20200509/2100Z/SAEZ/NZAA

ANZ ran ANZ6199 taking people from SAEZ/EZE to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6199/history/20200511/2046Z/SAEZ/NZAA

ANZ ran ANZ6199 taking people from SAEZ/EZE to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6199/history/20200513/2050Z/SAEZ/NZAA

5

SAA4701, SAA4703, SAA4705 & SAA4707 (ALL A330-200’s) now en-route from FAOR/JNB (Johannesburg) to SGBR/GRU (Sao Paulo), one behind the other. I am not sure if these are repatriation flights, or what the reason is.

1 Like
6

These position-only flights are very hard to spot, unless you catch them at, or soon after, take off. I’ll mark them as “repatriation” for now, and dig a bit further. It’s possible they are training flights, or flights for pilots to keep their flying hours up.

I understand that SAA is cancelling/has cancelled quite a few domestic and international routes. It’s possible they have sold a few aircraft off.

7

SAA

SAA4701/3/5/7

SAA4701/3/5/7

SAA ran SAA4701 from FAOR/JNB to SBGR/GRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA4701/history/20200516/0835Z/FAOR/SBGR

SAA ran SAA4703 from FAOR/JNB to SBGR/GRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA4703/history/20200516/0705Z/FAOR/SBGR

SAA ran SAA4705 from FAOR/JNB to SBGR/GRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA4705/history/20200516/0801Z/FAOR/SBGR

SAA ran SAA4707 from FAOR/JNB to SBGR/GRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA4707/history/20200516/0938Z/FAOR/SBGR

8

SAA4701, SAA4703, SAA4705 & SAA4707 are now en-route from SGBR/GRU (Sao Paulo) to KTUS/TUS (Arizona, USA). I am still not sure if these are repatriation flights (doubt it), and I am beginning to think that these birds are not going back to South Africa any time soon. Most likely for long-term storage and not part-out, as these aircraft are all only around 8 or 9 years old. Time will tell.

1 Like
9

image

10

It took a while for the details to appear in Google, but the mystery appears to be solved.

11

A small number of repatriation flights continued mid-May 2020.

LATAM

LAN1109 and LAN1108

LAN1109

LATAM ran LAN1109 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YSSY/SYD to VTBS/BKK to VIDP/DEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1109/history/20200519/0900Z/SCEL/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1109/history/20200520/0440Z/YSSY/VTBS
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1109/history/20200520/1230Z/VTBS/VIDP

LAN1108

LATAM ran LAN1108 taking people from VIDP/DEL to YSSY/SYD to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1108/history/20200520/2300Z/VIDP/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1108/history/20200521/1210Z/YSSY/SAEZ

Air New Zealand

ANZ6190 and ANZ6191

ANZ6190

ANZ ran ANZ6190 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6190/history/20200516/0659Z/NZAA/SAEZ

ANZ6191

ANZ ran ANZ6191 taking people from SAEZ/EZE to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6191/history/20200517/1955Z/SAEZ

Air New Zealand

ANZ6190 and ANZ6191

ANZ6190

ANZ ran ANZ6190 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6190/history/20200523/0641Z/NZAA/SAEZ

ANZ6191

ANZ ran ANZ6191 taking people from SAEZ/EZE to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ANZ6191/history/20200524/1955Z/SAEZ/NZAA

12

No further activity noted in the last few days of May 2020.

With some airlines restarting limited scheduled passenger routes in the next month or so, perhaps this is the last of the repatriation flights for now?

13

A small number of repatriation flights continued in June 2020.

LATAM

LAN1233 and LAN1234

LAN1233

LATAM ran LAN1233 taking people from SCEL/SCL to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1233/history/20200603/0112Z/SCEL/NZAA

LAN1234

LATAM ran LAN1234 taking people from NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1234/history/20200604/1221Z/NZAA/SCEL

Aerolineas Argentinas

ARG1180 and and ARG1181

ARG1180

Aerolineas Argentinas ran ARG1180 from SAEZ/EZE to NZAA/AKL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ARG1180/history/20200606/0710Z/SAEZ/NZAA

ARG1181

Aerolineas Argentinas ran ARG1181 from NZAA/AKL to SAEZ/EZE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ARG1181/history/20200607/0100Z/NZAA/SAEZ

Air Mauritius

MAU440 and MAU441

MAU440

Air Mauritius ran MAU440 taking people and cargo from FIMP/MRU to YPPH/PER
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/MAU440/history/20200605/1640Z/FIMP/YPPH

MAU441

Air Mauritius ran MAU441 taking people and cargo from YPPH/PER to FIMP/MRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/MAU441/history/20200606/1310Z/YPPH/FIMP

SAA

SAA2982 and SAA2983

SAA2982

SAA ran SAA2982 taking people from from FAOR/JNB to YBBN/BNE
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2982/history/20200606/1200Z/FAOR/YBBN

SAA2983

SAA ran SAA2983 taking people from YBBN/BNE to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2983/history/20200609/0400Z/YBBN/FAOR

1 Like
14

SAA6207 (FAOR/JNB to KIAD) 4 Jun 2020
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ZSSND/history/20200604/0844Z

SAA6208 (KIAD to FAOR/JNB) 6 Jun 2020
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ZSSND/history/20200606/2340Z/KIAD/FAOR

1 Like
15

Left BNE without a flightplan or destination but probably heading for JNB

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2983/history/20200609/0517Z/YBBN

It is clearly not a scheduled passenger flight. How do I tell if it is repatriation of just freight?

S

16

There’s no regular cargo flight scheduled on that route.

All of the unusual flights are either repatriation or medical supplies. Medical supplies are generally from China.

Repatriation flights are usually announced in advance to alert potential passengers. There’s also blog posts, social media mentions, etc.

17

Flights continued in mid June 2020.

SAA

SAA2952 and SAA2953

SAA2952

SAA ran SAA2952 taking people from FAOR/JNB to SAEZ/EZE to SBGR/GRU
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2952/history/20200613/1103Z/FAOR/SAEZ
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2952/history/20200613/2338Z/SAEZ/SBGR

SAA2953

SAA ran SAA2953 taking people from SBGR/GRU to SAEZ/EZE to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2953/history/20200616/0005Z/SBGR/SAEZ
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2953/history/20200616/0442Z/SAEZ/FAOR

SAA

SAA2986 and SAA2987

SAA2986

SAA ran SAA2986 taking people from FAOR/JNB to VVNB/HAN to VTBS/BKK
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2986/history/20200615/1000Z/FAOR/VVNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2986/history/20200616/0136Z

SAA2987

SAA ran SAA2987 taking people from VTBS/BKK to VVNB/HAN to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2987/history/20200618/0712Z/VTBS/VVNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2987/history/20200618/1030Z/VVNB/FAOR

SAA

SAA2984 and SAA2985

SAA2984

SAA ran SAA2984 taking people from FAOR/JNB to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2984/history/20200617/1000Z/FAOR/YSSY

SAA2985

SAA ran SAA2985 taking people from YSSY/SYD to FAOR/JNB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SAA2985/history/20200622/0030Z/YSSY/FAOR

18

Repatriation flights continued in June 2020.

LATAM

LAN1955 and LAN1956

LAN1955

LATAM ran LAN1955 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1955/history/20200621/0700Z/SCEL/YSSY

LAN1956

LATAM ran LAN1956 taking people from YSSY/SYD to NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1956/history/20200622/2335Z/YSSY/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1956/history/20200623/0317Z/NZAA/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1106

LATAM flight LAN 1106 from SCEL/SCL to NZAA/AKL to ZSPD/PVG was CANCELLED
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1106/history/20200624/0411Z/SCEL/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1106/history/20200624/1810Z/NZAA/ZSPD

LATAM

LAN1108 and LAN1109

This flight re-used flight numbers previously used for repatriation from India, but operated on the same route as multiple previous medical supplies flights.

LAN1108

LATAM ran LAN1108 taking people from SCEL/SCL to NZAA/AKL to ZSPD/PVG
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1108/history/20200624/0411Z/SCEL/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1108/history/20200624/1810Z/NZAA/ZSPD

LAN1109

LATAM ran LAN1109 taking people from ZSPD/PVG to NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1109/history/20200625/1020Z/ZSPD/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1109/history/20200626/0230Z/NZAA/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1951 and LAN1164

LAN1951

LATAM ran LAN1951 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1951/history/20200624/0700Z/SCEL/YSSY

LAN1164

LATAM ran LAN1164 taking people from YSSY/SYD to NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200626/0225Z/YSSY/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1164/history/20200626/0725Z/NZAA/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1951 and LAN1950

LAN1951

LATAM ran LAN1951 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YSSY/SYD
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1951/history/20200626/0700Z/SCEL/YSSY

LAN1950

LATAM ran LAN1950 taking people from YSSY/SYD to NZAA/AKL to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1950/history/20200627/2345Z/YSSY/NZAA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1950/history/20200628/0312Z/NZAA/SCEL

LATAM

LAN1173 and LAN1174

LAN1173

LATAM ran LAN1173 taking people from SCEL/SCL to YMML/MEL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1173/history/20200627/0610Z/SCEL/YMML

LAN1174

LATAM ran LAN1174 taking people from YMML/MEL to YSSY/SYD to SCEL/SCL
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1174/history/20200628/2310Z/YMML/YSSY
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/LAN1174/history/20200629/0500Z/YSSY/SCEL

19

This article in today’s paper would seem to indicate that there have been very few passenger repatriation flights between Australia and Chile since April.

S

20

LATAM had a few repatriation flights to/from Australia in April 2020, but after 1 May 2020 there appears to have been nothing further until about 21 June 2020 and then there were three via Sydney and Auckland, and one via Melbourne and Sydney.

One flight from Santiago to China via Sydney in late June 2020 could have been repatriation or cargo.

There were also repatriation flights from India in late May 2020 and from New Zealand in early June 2020.