More than 1,000 outstanding workers in HCM City and Đồng Nai and Bình Dương provinces receive free air tickets from the HCM City unit of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union to return home for Tết. — Photo plo.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City unit of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union has provided free air travel to more than 1,000 outstanding workers in HCM City and Đồng Nai and Bình Dương provinces for returning home for Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.

The workers were acknowledged for their outstanding contributions and achievements last year, according to a representative of the union.

Of them, 900 left by five charter flights from HCM City, one to Hà Nội and two to Quy Nhơn City on January 20 and one each to Vinh City and Đồng Hới City on January 21.

The remaining 100-odd people received tickets to travel by regular commercial flights to Hà Nội.

Vietnam Airlines offered them an extra allowance of five kilogrammes of baggage on top of the standard 23kg.

The HCM City chapter of the Việt Nam Red Cross Society and the HCM City Youth Cultural House gave Tết gifts worth more than VNĐ21 billion (US$908,500) to 33,000 disadvantaged people in the southern and central regions.

They included 19,000 in HCM City who are beneficiaries of State policies, poor households, Agent Orange victims, people with disabilities, old people living alone, and poor students while the rest live in remote areas in Long An, Tiền Giang, Vĩnh Long, Bến Tre, Cà Mau, Lâm Đồng, Đắk Lắk, and Bình Thuận provinces.

The Red Cross also provided free health checks and medicines to more than 2,000 people, repaired houses for poor families, gifted bicycles and wheelchairs, and organised entertainment activities in many localities. — VNS