The air crew of a Xiamen Airlines flight. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Since it was a high-risk flight, the airline took physical isolation measures related to cleaning, passenger seating and quarantine areas. It informed Wuhan Tianhe International Airport 30 minutes before landing that the airport should take steps to minimize risks. The airplane itself was thoroughly disinfected.

One day before the scheduled takeoff, the airline learned that a group of about 70 passengers in a neighboring area of Kabul had failed to arrive in Kabul on time because of the city's complicated security situation. After discussion, it decided to delay the flight to Friday so that every Chinese person could return home. The flight also waited for about an hour on Friday for the last passenger.

The air crew has past experience in evacuating overseas Chinese and had undergone training.