Sun Group and Vietnam Airlines successfully deployed two flights to take Vietnamese people who had fled Ukraine to Vietnam

The first two flights with the full sponsorship of Sun Group, operated by the national airline - Vietnam Airlines, safely took nearly 600 Vietnamese citizens and their families, who had fled Ukraine to Poland and Romania, back to Việt Nam on March 13.

These two flights were deployed immediately after the signing ceremony of cooperation between Sun Group and Vietnam Airlines to support to take Vietnamese citizens and their families from the Ukraine war zone back home on March 10, responding to the Government's policy and the Prime Minister's appeal to organise flights to bring Vietnamese citizens out of dangerous areas in Ukraine promptly.

The cost of these flights was fully sponsored by Sun Group, with preferential prices offered by Vietnam Airlines. Vietnamese citizens and their families in Ukraine, intending to repatriate, will be taken to Việt Nam completely free of charge.

The Vietnamese embassies in Poland and Romania have coordinated with Vietnamese associations to take people to the airport, assigned staff to assist, and worked closely with local authorities to facilitate their return home.

Under the direction and urgent support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese embassies in Poland and Romania, the flight from Poland with the number VN58 departed at Warsaw airport at 4 pm on March 12 took 288 Vietnamese people and their families to Noi Bai airport at 9:30 a. (Vietnamese time) on March 13.

Right after that, the flight from Romania with the number VN68 taking off at 7:20 pm on March 12, picking up 291 Vietnamese citizens and their families, also landed at Noi Bai Airport at 11 a. (Vietnamese time) on March 13. The vast majority of passengers on these two special flights are children, the elderly, pregnant women, as well aspeople with co-morbidities and difficult circumstances.

To ensure the flight was prompt and smooth, Vietnam Airlines arranged experienced flight crews who participated in many flights to protect Vietnamese citizens.  Each flight consisted of a pilot team of five, including three captains, two co-pilots, and a cabin crew of 12.

The special passengers on the two flights were served with main meals and snacks. The meals were prepared by Vietnam Airlines from Việt Nam with typical homeland dishes were a warm welcome to the compatriots upon boarding the flight back home.

Vietnam Airlines also actively prepared masks and implemented 5K seriously to ensure safety and prevention of the pandemic before, during, and after the flight.

Stepping down from Noi Bai airport in the morning of March 13, Pham Nguyen Dinh Tung (Hung Yen Province) was emotional: “After Tet holiday, I had just been to Kharkiv for two days when the situation in Ukraine became highly tense. We have been in Thoi Dai Village for five days, then we decided to move to Poland by train. When receiving the news that we would be returning home on a flight sponsored by Sun Group, we were exceedingly happy and could only say thanks to the Government, to the Group, businesses protected our citizens.”

Waiting for performing the procedures to leave the airport, Pham Thi Men, said: "I have been to Ukraine since 1987 and returned to Vietnam many times. My family has six people, the youngest child is only two years old. Now, I still feel acutely haunted and impassioned. I can only thank all Vietnamese brothers who have been extremely supportive of us. It is the warm feeling of our compatriots. The homeland is the best. Choosing to return to the homeland is the safest way."

According to a representative of Vietnam Airlines Corporation, these repatriation flights did not follow the usual route or have a representative office of Vietnam Airlines. Hence, the flight deployment requiresd much more speed and detail than other conventional international flights.

The flight crew and the operating team must exchange and check thoroughly with the airport of foreign countries about the facilities to welcome the flight. To ensure a safe and smooth journey, the flight was accompanied by the technical and ground staff to coordinate ground services (passengers, luggage, cargo) and engineering at the arrival airport.

It is expected that, after the first two flights on March 13, Sun Group and Vietnam Airlines will continue to continuously deploy the next flights to Romania and Poland to take all Vietnamese citizens and their families who need to repatriate to Việt Nam.

Sun Group will fully cover the cost of the flights for all special passengers. Moreover, they are attentively served and taken back to Vietnam safely by Vietnam Airlines.

A representative of Sun Group said: “The urgent deployment of flights to rescue Vietnamese people and their families from Ukraine is the biggest desire of Sun Group at this time. We expect to join hands and contribute a small part to help our compatriots avoid armed conflicts, safely and peacefully return, and rely on the homeland during this difficult time. With the cooperation of Vietnam Airlines, we believe that the next flights will also be safely and smoothly implemented.”

Because Ukraine is currently a war zone with fierce fighting, it is impossible to deploy flights, the airlines have been making plans to exploit the destinations in neighbouring countries of Ukraine to pick up Vietnamese citizens and their families to repatriate.

The number of upcoming repatriation flights for Vietnamese citizens and their families in Ukraine is constantly updated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese embassies.

Sun Group and Vietnam Airlines are committed to accompanying the Government, and ready to organise the flights to where Vietnamese citizens to return home to take them back to Việt Nam safely as soon as possible.