Captain Phung Thien Quan (green jacket) and First Officer Duong Trung Dung have a briefing before carrying out the important mission. (Cre: VNA).

On knowing that I was approved to be one of the pilots on the flight bringing Vietnamese citizens in Wuhan back home, my feeling was similar to when I flew private jets or served flights for national security. All pilots in the Flight Crew Division 919 are always ready for such special flights.

Captain Phung Thien Quan prepares the specialized protective gear before flying to Wuhan. (Cre: VNA) 

Regarding this flight, what impresses me the most is its meaningful mission of carrying Vietnamese citizens in the epicenter back to their motherland, which I consider sacred yet emotional — as the passengers are my fellow countrymen.

The greatest challenge that the flight crew members and passengers might face was the misunderstanding and suspicion among each other caused by the fear of being infected. To mitigate this problem, all crew members and passengers had been thoroughly equipped with training, protective gear, and disease prevention equipment.

The special journey to the epicenter Wuhan. (Cre: VNA).

A pilot with 20 years of flying for VNA like me is familiar with special missions like this. Our division has rich experience in serving flights carrying Vietnamese people out from areas of political, economic, and social instability. These flights are the obligation, and responsibility given to VNA and the Flight Crew Division by the Party and the State of Vietnam. Furthermore, they give us the motivation to complete our assigned tasks in a safe and effective manner.   

Members of the Flight Crew Division are deeply delighted and moved to know that all 30 Vietnamese citizens on the flight are in good health. (Cre: VNA).

For this flight, we had to wear protective gear and every action had to be performed as per the guidance of doctors. It was a 6-hour flight at night — not very long actually — but we all hoped that the flight would end quickly so that our people could meet their loved ones, as we somehow understood their yearning to return to their motherland. I was elated and touched to know that all 30 Vietnamese citizens and the flight crew members were in good health. Since a pilot is responsible for the safety of his passengers, we all had to pay attention to every minute detail.

The joy of Captain Phung Thien Quan and the flight crew members after successfully accomplishing the mission (Cre: Flight Crew Division 911).

We worked on special flights during SARS, Ebola, etc., outbreaks, which contributed to the success of the missions assigned to VNA. Therefore, when we were about to fly to Wuhan, we strongly believed we would accomplish our tasks in a smooth fashion. And the flight did turn out to be successful. After the journey, we made sure to remind each other to protect our health to get ready for upcoming flights. 

Nguyen Mai Huong-COMM