Junnie Reyes, 64, a Philippine national, reunited with family at Nội Bài International Airport. Photos courtesy of Nội Bài International Airport

HÀ NỘI — A Filipino tourist who got lost in Hà Nội’s Old Quarter without a phone or identification decided to take a taxi to Nội Bài International Airport to seek help and wait for his family, airport authorities said.

According to the airport's authorities, the incident occurred on the evening of January 2, when Junnie Reyes, 64, from the Philippines, became separated from his tour group in the historic centre of Hà Nội.

Reyes did not have a mobile phone or personal documents with him and could not recall the name of the hotel where he was staying.

On that day, after the dinner with his tour group, Reyes went out for coffee but was unable to find his way back to the hotel. With less than VNĐ200,000 in cash and no contact information, he decided to take a taxi to the only place he could remember by name, the Nội Bài Airport.

The taxi dropped him off at Terminal 2, which was crowded due to the new year holiday. Reyes struggled to find assistance, as he primarily spoke his local language and had limited English proficiency.

Unable to clearly express his wish to contact the authorities or the Philippine Embassy, the tourist spent the night at the airport, hoping to reunite with his family the following day when the group was scheduled to depart Việt Nam.

Junnie Reyes worked with officials at Nội Bài International Airport

On the morning of January 3, Minh, a student at the University of Languages and International Studies, Việt Nam National University, Hà Nội, who was interning at the airport as a customer care ambassador at Terminal 2, noticed Reyes’ confusion and distress. Minh proactively escorted him to the information desk at the Nội Bài Airport Operations Centre on the first floor.

Seeing that the tourist was exhausted and disoriented, Hoàng Thu Thủy, an information officer, worked patiently with Minh to communicate through written notes, gestures and translation applications.

After piecing together the details, they established that Reyes had been separated from his tour group, could not recall the hotel’s name and had gone to the airport on his own to wait for his relatives.

Thủy then contacted airport security and border police for assistance. Immigration officers checked entry records, identified the hotel where the tour group was staying and contacted it directly.

Hotel representatives and Reyes’ relatives said they had been searching for him for more than a day. Confirming his location at Nội Bài Airport enabled both sides to reconnect quickly, bringing the tourist’s anxious ordeal to an end.

Following the incident, Grace Chang, head of the Philippine tour group, sent a letter of appreciation to airport staff and relevant authorities.

“Our holiday in Hà Nội became truly memorable thanks to the support of Hà Nội’s immigration authorities,” Chang wrote, adding that the experience left a strong impression of the hospitality, helpfulness and compassion of Vietnamese officials. — VNS