A repatriation flight carrying 120 Australians who had been stranded overseas due to COVID-19 has safely arrived in Canberra.
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The Singapore Airlines flight touched down at Canberra Airport just before 12pm.
Passengers onboard the repatriation flight will now go into hotel quarantine at the Pacific Suites in Canberra for the next two weeks.
COVID-19 tests for incoming passengers will be carried out upon arrival and again between days 10 and 12 of their 14-day quarantine.
While 120 passengers departed in Canberra, a further 36 passengers remained onboard upon arrival in the ACT, to be taken to the plane's next destination in Sydney.
Large sections of the departure area at Canberra Airport were closed off to travellers on Thursday due to the incoming repatriation flight.
Many domestic passengers had to be stopped by security from walking through spaces that had been earmarked for the repatriation flight with strict quarantine measures in place.
Passengers onboard the repatriation flight were taken to hotel quarantine in multiple waves on buses, while their luggage was carried onboard removal trucks with staff covered in personal protective equipment.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said extra precautions had been taken to ensure potential cases of COVID-19 did not spread through the Canberra community, after hotel quarantine failings in Victoria and South Australia.
"From what we've been hearing, everyone [on the flight] are tired but relieved to be on Australian soil," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"There is no such thing as a zero risk when it comes to dealing with a virus that's highly contagious."
The Health Minister said the Pacific Suites along Northbourne Avenue had been chosen to support the mental and physical health of passengers.
"Being in quarantine for 14 days is not easy, and we had criteria for the hotels that do have fresh air and some levels of kitchenette or cooking so people can cater for themselves," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
"ACT Health staff will check in with people every day to see if [passengers] have what they need."
Health authorities in the ACT had spent several days preparing for the arrival of the flight, with passengers being transported to the hotel for quarantine by federal police.
The repatriation flight is the first overseas flight to land in the capital since June and the third repatriation flight to Canberra since the start of the pandemic.
Previous repatriation flights have come from India and Nepal for stranded Australians.
A fourth repatriation flight is expected to touch down in the ACT before Christmas. Arrangements are being discussed between the ACT and federal governments.
The flight is likely to land some time in December, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
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