The flight was part of a program  offering 456 free return air tickets, of which 196 are for international flights, along with 3,600 bus tickets, and Tet gifts to students and workers living in difficult circumstances.

Cu Duc Quan, deputy chief of the Office of the Youth Union and a representative of the organizing board, said at the welcome ceremony at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi that this is the first time such a flight has been launched to bring home Vietnamese students and workers from Japan who have missed family gatherings during Tet, the biggest festival in Vietnam, for years.

Each recipient receives free airfare from Japan to Vietnam and 50% of the cost to buy a ticket back to Japan to continue studying and working after the holiday.