The flight departed from Hanoi at 8:20am and arrived inPrague at 2:30pm (local time).
The cargo included 64,200 face masks, among others, as giftsto the Czech government and people from the Vietnam – Czech Republic FriendshipAssociation and companies.
Bamboo Airways used a wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner forthe flight.
The same day, the Czech News Agency CTK quoted the country’sForeign Minister Tomas Petricek as saying that it is the first repatriationflight coordinated at the European level amid the pandemic.
Also on March 25, the CTK quoted Honorary Chairman of theCzech Republic – Vietnam Friendship Association Marcel Winter as saying thatthe Vietnamese community is the only in the Czech Republic supportinghospitals, rescue teams and people financially in the fight against theepidemic.
He said their actions show they really consider the Europeannation as their second home.
A youth organisation named “Vietup” has launched a campaignto make face masks to hand over to hospitals in Prague.
According to Vietup, a number of Vietnamese conveniencestores across the country with heart-shaped logos are also providing beveragesand snacks for doctors, public security and firefighting forces for free.
In the northern city of Usti nad Labem, the Vietnamesecommunity has raised funds to purchase ventilators for Masaryk hospital.
Meanwhile, the Czech newswire parliamenlisty.cz on March 24 publishedan article lauding the Vietnamese community for showing solidarity with theirhosts during tough times.
It said Vietnamese people at the SAPA commercial centre inPrague has deployed volunteers and sewing machines to produce hundreds of face masksto present to local authorities and people each day.
The author expressed his appreciation for the Vietnamesepeople’s acts amid the shortage of face masks there, adding that it’s whynational and local news agencies such as Mlada Fronta Dnes and Lidove Noviny arerunning stories highlighting their solidarity with their hosts.
The Vietnamese community is now the third largest minoritygroup in the Czech Republic./.