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The 29-person crew undertook a 33-hour flight to San Francisco (USA) to return the Vietnamese.
At 6:45 PM on 8/5, the direct VN1 flight from San Francisco, USA, landed at Van Don International Airport (Quang Ninh), safely carrying 343 Vietnamese to the country. The day before, the plane had departed at Noi Bai airport with a US citizen passenger and transported medical equipment supported by domestic units, donated to the Vietnamese community in the United States.
Vietnam Airlines charter flights previously to China and Southeast Asia in 8-9 hours or Europe in 24 hours, while this flight to the US USA It has more than 25,000 km with a trip of 33 hours.
On a regular long-haul flight, the crew generally had 14 to 16 people, but because of the plane to the US. USA Always having to return, Vietnam Airlines mobilized a flight crew of 29 people, including 8 pilots and 16 flight attendants. , the rest are technical personnel, ground personnel. Most of the crew are male, with only 5 stewardesses on board.
To limit the spread of infection, all food and water on board is brought from Vietnam. The crew’s food is stored in specialized foam containers. In addition to the standard meal, the crew also prepared foods such as sticky rice, beef, fruit, and tonic for crew members. For the passengers, each person was given 3 bags of cold food that included cakes, milk and 3 bottles of mineral water.
The crew is on the plane before departure. Photo: NVCC.
At the San Francisco airport, each crew member has his own mission. The hostesses pick up passengers and order their food from the seats. Ground personnel carry out passenger and baggage operations, technical personnel check the aircraft and refuel the return flight.
Flight Commander Captain Dang Ngoc Co has 26 years of experience sharing flight routes to the US. USA Through China, Russia and Canada, completely new to Vietnam Airlines pilots. But he and several crew members who had received Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 787-10 aircraft in the United States before should not be surprised on this trip.
Flight VN1 from Hanoi to San Francisco flies 14 hours straight, the plane stops picking up passengers for more than 3 hours at the airport. With approximately 343 passengers and luggage, the Boeing 787-10 aircraft must technically land in Alaska, USA, to refuel. The flight time from San Francisco to Alaska is 4 hours, then the flight to Vietnam almost 11 hours. Long distance flight, so 4 crews with 8 pilots must take turns to take turns and rest.
“When I drove the plane to the San Francisco airport, I was more nervous than I was before in the USA. Because this mission is to get Vietnamese citizens out of the epidemic area and return home safely. The flight is attracting a lot people”. Looking forward, “said Mr. Co.
United States security controls are different from other countries. After landing at the airport, the US side asked the entire crew to get off the plane to enter, verify security, and then perform departure procedures. At that time, the airport security department boarded the Vietnam Airlines plane to verify security. This is different from many other charter flights that welcome other Vietnamese as crew without entry.
“When they saw us at the airport, the Vietnamese students were so touched that we were touched,” said Captain Co.
Flight attendant Nguyen Thi Bach Nga (left) and her colleagues on the flight. Photos: NVCC
Flight crew member Nguyen Thi Bach Nga shared that her group of volunteers are roommates who volunteered to enter the epidemic area, who have long-term flight experience and good health. Before boarding, each member received two clothes, a hat, shoe covers, gloves, and nearly a dozen masks to wear on both trips. Every time you travel in the passenger compartments, the stewardesses must sterilize the whole body, change masks, gloves.
Ms. Bach Nga said that passengers on the plane had their body temperatures measured twice at the terminal and at the gate. About 30% of passengers wear protective gear and all passengers wear masks, many students order more masks on the plane and wear two.
An impressive moment for Russia was that when the crew passed through the waiting room to board the plane, many Vietnamese stood up to greet them, radiant with joy in all eyes, some young people said aloud “about to return” . . When boarding, passengers sit urgently without stewardesses, as they want to rush home.
Russia said most of the passengers on board were international students trapped when the school closed, and some older people visiting their descendants were trapped. Everyone wanted to go home because Covid-19 exploded in the United States.
Head of flight attendants Vu Thi Thu Ha before the flight. Photos: NVCC.
When boarding, some international students seem tired, stressed. Some of them said they came to Vietnam from other states a week earlier to return to Vietnam, but the scheduled flight on 2/5 had to be moved to 7/5, so they had to wait tired and stressed from being infected. . Some children have to rent hotels and houses to stay.
On the flight, there was a female passenger who vomited but showed no signs of coughing. The guest said that she had not had breakfast and that she was tired and stressed. After being encouraged by the cabin crew, eating well, the passenger was able to sleep and improve.
The flight attendant Vu Thi Thu Ha told me that when she landed at the San Francisco airport, the sky was bright and sunny. Upon registration, all students were excited about the Vietnamese flag that touched their hearts.
When the plane landed at Van Don Airport, the passenger cabin roared loudly. Many expressed their appreciation to the crew for taking them safely after the long journey. A single Vietnamese passenger abroad on the afternoon flight from Vietnam to the United States also sent a letter expressing appreciation to the crew.
The joy of the crew after the plane landed at Van Don airport on the night of 9/5. Photos: NVCC.
For flight attendant Bach Nga, this special flight to the United States is the best memory of my 28-year flying life. As for Thu Ha, he proudly told his friends and children that he had flown the first passenger flight from the United States from Vietnam Airlines.
