American citizens who had found themselves stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus pandemic are making their way back home with the help of Wayne-based Eastern Airlines, writes Frank Fitzpatrick for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Over the last several weeks, Eastern Airlines has rescued thousands of Americans stuck in Central and South America.

The company moved its headquarters to Wayne two years ago, after emerging from bankruptcy. Until last month, it was operating a single route between JFK in New York and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The company was planning to add a few more routes when the pandemic struck. But after legacy airlines started canceling flights, Eastern saw an opportunity, and in early March, it did a series of repatriation charters.

“Then the phone really started ringing, and we started talking to a couple of embassies,” said Steve Harfst, Eastern’s president and CEO. “They said, `We’ve got all these American citizens who need to get home, and all the airlines have pulled out.’”

The company coordinated with embassies and the State Department to organize direct-sale charters to these countries.

As of Friday, the company has already made 41 repatriation flights, which have returned 8,100 Americans.

Read more about Eastern Airlines in The Philadelphia Inquirer here.

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