From early 2020 to mid-2021, 372 "rescue flights" were organised to help overseas Vietnamese return to the country during the border closure due to the pandemic. A group of 20 companies paid and received bribes up to 515 times to obtain a flight licence, and the total amount of bribes was estimated to be between €6.4 and €8.7 million.
To carry passengers on "rescue flights", companies must follow a 5-step process, passing through 7 "bribery doors": quarantine policy approved by a provincial/city people's committee; simultaneous approval by 5 ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport, before submission to the Government Office for final approval.