Photo: Chief flight attendant Pham Hai Bang (holding a stack of documents) is meeting with other crew members before leaving for the task of bringing Vietnamese citizens home from Wuhan Hanoi (VNA) - The crew members on the flight to take home 30 Vietnamese citizens from the epicentre of the nCoV outbreak in Wuhan were proud to have completed their assigned tasks and mission.
“When we arrived in the epicenter of the nCoV outbreak in Wuhan, the outside temperature was only 3 degrees Celsius but everyone was wet with sweat as we were anxious to safely bring 30 Vietnamese citizens home, including students, relatives and tourists, Vietnam Airlines’ chief flight attendant Pham Hai Bang recalled after the flight.
Volunteering to go into “epidemic epicentre”
Bang, who has worked for Vietnam Airlines for 25 years, was chosen for a special flight taking Vietnamese home from Wuhan on February 10. He said the crew members were chosen from a list of 33 attendants who volunteered for the task.
“It was a special flight so that all crew members had to make thorough preparations in order to ensure safety for each one and all”, Bang said.
Before boarding the flight, all crewmembers and passengers strictly followed doctors’ requirements, putting on protective suits and other equipment. The airline also prepared multiple scenarios for the pick-up from Wuhan, including the case there were passengers showing the symptom of fever and coughing. No meal, magazines or entertainment services were provided on the flight.
“The most difficult thing was wearing a mask and protective suit, which was uncomfortable for children”, he said.
During the journey, all passengers were so tired that they fell into sleep after take-off. When the aircraft landed at Van Don airport, everyone was relieved when doctors informed that they were all healthy.
But perhaps the moment Bang felt the most relieved feeling was when all crew members "escaped" from the protective suits with smiles and joyful eyes.
“Following the special flight, all crew members were ready for a long holiday in quarantine to prevent the risk of virus spreading. When we engaged in the evacuation of workers in Libya and in Japan during the time of tsunami, we almost had no day-off. This time, we considered the quarantine duration an opportunity to recharge ourselves and get ready for new journeys and challenges in the future. Conducting the flight was a mission and responsibility of the national flag carrier”, he said.
Flight from “heart” to epidemic epicenter
Upon hearing about the special flight to bring Vietnamese citizens in Wuhan back to Vietnam, Do Tung Lam, 36, an engineer of Vietnam Airlines, immediately met the manager to volunteer to serve the flight to his excitement and amazement of his colleagues.
When learning about his decision, all his family members were very worried about his safety. But with determination, Lam persuaded them and felt relieved when his wife said “Because of work and duty, I do not stop you, only hope you must be very careful”.
Lam said Vietnam Airlines and relevant ministries and agencies had held meetings with the crew members and thoroughly prepared scenarios for the trip.
“This flight was even more special because there was a 36-week pregnant woman among the passengers, so an obstetrician also accompanied us. As a technician with job requiring much travelling, I had never experienced such a flight with that great human compassion”, Lam recalled.
Lam said when the Vietnamese citizens arrived in the homeland, he saw great joy in their eyes, but they still seriously followed quarantine regulations to ensure safety.
Photo: Engineer Do Tung Lam (L) volunteered to work on the flight to bring 30 Vietnamese home from Wuhan Looking at the suitcase of personal belongings prepared by his wife for him to use in quarantine following the flight, Lam wished that all people would be safe and the epidemic would be early contained. And for him, the flight was probably the most beautiful and meaningful memory after over 10 years of working for Vietnam Airlines./.
| The flight number VN68 from Wuhan landed at Van Don International Airport at 5:4am on February 10. After landing, all passengers and crew members were taken to a quarantine area for health monitoring for 14 days. The aircraft was also sterilised thoroughly and halted operations for 24 hours to completely prevent the risk of nCoV infection. In particular, 15 crewmembers were chosen from nearly 100 pilots, flight attendants, technicians, ground staff registering for the mission. It was not the first time Vietnam Airlines conducted flights to take Vietnamese citizens out of areas with political and social instability. Earlier, the carrier joined a number of campaigns launched by the Government such as evacuating workers in Libya in 2011 and 2014, bringing Vietnamese citizens home due to earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, and out of Europe due to volcanic eruption in 2010, lifting citizens stranded in Thailand due to the political crisis in 2008, and carrying Vietnamese citizens out of Malaysia and the Middle East in 2005-2007./. |
