National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on May 16 brought home more than 540 Vietnamese nationals on two repatriation flights from Europe and the US, continuing the country’s efforts to repatriate its stranded citizens.

Vietnamese passengers check in at Frankfurt. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Passengers include people of special cases who are children under 18, the elderly, the sick, people with chronic diseases, pregnant women, stranded tourists, workers of expired labor contracts, state employees in mission, and students who finished school, according to Vietnam Airlines.

Vietnamese passenger at Madrid. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Flight VN8 from Frankfurt (Germany) to Danang (Vietnam) with stopover at Madrid (Spain) brought about nearly 200 passengers from Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, the hotspots of coronavirus outbreaks in Europe.

This was Vietnam Airlines’ first direct flight from Spain to Vietnam.

On way from Hanoi to Frankfurt, Vietnam Airlines repatriated nearly 250 Germany nationals and brought medical supplies as Vietnamese pandemic relief to German people.

Vietnamese passengers check in at Washington DC. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Another flight on the day is from Washington DC to Noi Bai, Hanoi. It was Vietnam Airlines’ second flight to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from the US after the first one from San Francisco on May 8.

The return flight between Hanoi and Washington DC with a stopover in Alaska on way back took nearly 40 hours. Vietnam Airlines has used Alaska twice as a fuel stop.

En route to Washington DC, the fight carried a number of passengers and medical supplies donated to American people.

Vietnam Airlines flight at Alaska, the US: Photo: Ted Stevens Anchorage, Alaska

Vietnam Airlines used Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner for flights to Europe and the US, respectively.

American netizens published a video featuring a Vietnam Airlines 787-10 landing in Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Alaska after flying from Washington DC. The plane then continued back to Hanoi.