Vietnam Airlines has achieved a new milestone using a Boeing 787-10. A repatriation flight departed Luanda, in Angola, for Quang Ninh on June 18th. The over-12-hour trip marked the first time the flag carrier flew in Vietnamese citizens from Africa. Pin VN-A879 was the aircraft that operated the repatriation flight from Africa. Photo: Vietnam Airlines Flying in citizens from Angola
Flight VN08 departed Angola for Van Don Airport in the evening hours (local time) in Luanda, Angola. Onboard the plane were 309 Vietnamese citizens. According to Vietnam Airlines, all the passengers on the flight were Vietnamese citizens needing special assistance. This included minor travelers, pregnant women , elderly citizens, people with underlying conditions, travelers stranded abroad, and workers with expiring contracts, among many others. To fly these people home, Vietnam Airlines met the task.
All the crew and passengers wore full personal protective equipment. This included bodysuits and face masks. Before boarding, all passengers and crew underwent temperature checks. Food onboard the flights was prepackaged, and utensils were disposable. Flight attendants wore full protective gear, as did passengers. Photo: Vietnam Airlines After landing in Van Don, the aircraft underwent full disinfection. This involved using internationally-recognized disinfectant chemicals to minimize the risk of viral transmission. Wait…Van Don Airport?
Van Don International Airport is not a very well known airport internationally. It is certainly not a hub for Vietnam Airlines , which has its primary operations out of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Van Don Airport has been a popular destination for repatriation flights on their first arrival into the Southeast Asian country. The government has used Van Don Airport as a staging ground for receiving passengers and entering them into proper quarantine procedures. Passengers after disembarking from the flight in Quang Ninh. Photo: Vietnam Airlines The outbound flight was special too
On the outbound flight to Angola from Vietnam, the airline transported over half a ton of medical goods. This included gauze masks, hand sanitizers, and personal protective equipment bound for the Vietnamese Embassy in Angola. These were donations with Vietnam Airlines taking on the taxes and fees. Taking advantage of the outbound flight, the airline donated crucial supplies to the Vietnamese embassy in Angola. Photo: Vietnam Airlines The aircraft
Vietnam Airlines dispatched its large Boeing 787-10 for this journey. According to Boeing, the aircraft has a range of 6,345 nautical miles or 11,750 kilometers. The route the plane flew, […]