Vietnam’s flag carrier has aided in the shipment of 150,000 surgical masks to the United States. Vietnam Airlines (VNA) worked alongside its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide free transportation for the large number of masks to the US.
Flight VN01 journeyed from Hanoi to Washington, DC in the US.
The masks were then donated to New York City’s Mayor’s Office by Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations.
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150,000 masks to the US
As the US has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths, masks have undeniably increased in demand. Currently, there are close to four million cases in America and over 143,000 deaths from the virus.
The Hanoi’s People Committee and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh initiated the gesture. The Office of the Mayor in NYC eventually received the face masks.
In a statement sent to Simple Flying, the deed was to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Hanoi and New York City in particular. The formal agreement of bilateral ties between the countries began on July 11th, 1995.
Vietnam donates generously
The US is not the only state on the receiving end of Vietnam’s helping hand.
Vietnam has controlled its coronavirus situation well. To date, the nation has not reported any deaths. According to Reuters, Vietnam has been coronavirus-free locally for over three months. There are, however, 12 new imported cases in the state.
Seeing as Vietnam is coping well, the state has decided to help other countries struggling to survive. Back in April, Vietnam donated 150,000 masks to Russia. The made-in-Vietnam masks were sent to Russia as a means of commemorating 70 years of bilateral relations as well.
Early July, budget carrier VietJet Air sent 135,000 antimicrobial masks to the UK, Vietnam Plus reported. A total of 500,000 masks are to be distributed to localities in the UK and Ireland.
Repatriations from the US ongoing
While flights are scarce due to travel restrictions, Vietnam Airlines remains hard at work getting citizens back home. It started flying Vietnamese citizens from the US in May. That flight also marked the first time VNA flew to the United States.
On June 9th, another repatriation flight took place. VNA carried more than 340 Vietnamese passengers to Hanoi from San Francisco, with a stop in Alaska. A Boeing 787-10 operated flight VN1 and had a total flight time of 33 hours. Passengers consisted of the elderly, citizens under 18, and international students with no means of accommodation in the US.
Similarly, a repatriation flight brought 346 Vietnamese home on July 10th. The trip started in Washington DC and made up VNA’s fourth repatriation flight from the US.
According to Vietnam Express, there are three to five more of such flights that Vietnam Airlines hopes to operate throughout July and August. At the same time, VNA is carrying out repatriation flights for other states such as Taiwan and France.
VNA seeking funds
Although Vietnam itself is doing well, that does not mean its aviation industry is shielded from the effects of the virus.
With international flights suspended for months on end, VNA’s revenues suffered a 50% drop in contrast with the previous year. Vietnam Plus reported that the carrier might experience “a liquidity shortage starting in September and a drop of 2.16bn in revenue this year.”
Recently, Simple Flying reported that Vietnam Airline is waiting on a government bailout of $518m. To date, there is no news if the carrier has secured the funds.
What do you think of VNA’s gesture for the US? Are masks high in demand where you live? Let us know in the comments.