Virgin flight from Hong Kong to Sydney with NO passengers on board lands carrying 700,000 bottles of hand sanitiser bound for frontline health workers
- A plane has touched down in Sydney with 700,000 bottles of hand sanitiser
- The Virgin Australia flight landed on Wednesday night with no passengers
- VA Captain Phil Bunder said he was proud to fly the critical goods to Australia
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
A Virgin Australia flight has touched down in Sydney with no passengers but 700,000 bottles of hand sanitiser during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Boeing 777-300ER from Hong Kong landed at Sydney Airport at 8.10pm on Wednesday with 44 tonnes of cargo.
The flight was organised by Air Charter Service and the hand sanitiser will be distributed to frontline.
VA Captain Phil Bunder said he was proud to fly the critical goods to Australia during the global health crisis.
Pictured: The 700,000 bottles of hand sanitister flown into Sydney by Virgin Australia
The Boeing 777-300ER (pictured in Hong Kong) landed at Sydney Airport at 8.10pm
The flight had no passengers (pictured) but transported 700,000 bottles of hand sanitiser to Australia
'You can't help but have a sense of pride to be a part of Virgin's team and operating these repatriation flights, both for passengers and in today's case for very important freight back into Australia for our frontline workers,' he said.
Pictures from the tarmac at Hong Kong International Airport show boxes of hand sanitiser waiting to be put into the hold for the nine-hour journey.
The aircraft, which usually carries more than 300 passengers, was empty with rows of seats left bare.
VA continues to work with Air Charter Service – the world’s largest aircraft charter provider – to fly critical cargo to Australia on an ad hoc basis.
Share this article
The airline is also working with the Federal Government to bring Australians home through a number of scheduled repatriation flights from Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
VA Cargo General Manager Glen Maloney said: 'This flight is one of the many repatriation flights that we're operating to bring our people and important products back to Australia.'
Mr Maloney said VA is exporting Australian produce like seafood to Los Angeles and Hong Kong to keep the economy moving during the COVID-19 pandemic.
'In times like these, Virgin Australia has the greatest opportunity to be a force for good in our community and we're proud to help Australians and our economy by flying critical cargo,' he said.
VA Captain Phil Bunder (pictured) said he was proud to fly the critical goods to Australia during the global health crisis
The flight from Hong Kong to Sydney carried 44 tonnes of precious cargo
'At Virgin Australia we take great pride in knowing that these flights are making a real difference to Australian exporters and frontline health workers.'
The Australian Government has banned all overseas travel due to control the COVID-19 outbreak, with a few exceptions.
Due to the restrictions, VA is operating one return flight per week between Los Angeles and Brisbane, and two return flights per week between Hong Kong and Brisbane for a 'limited period'.
The airline has also suspended all but one domestic route due to the pandemic.
Hand sanitiser has been in high demand due to the contagious nature of coronavirus and has led to hefty price tags for the good.
At a convenience store in Coogee, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, a 450ml bottle was selling for $50.
'We told him off this morning, couldn't believe the price... we thought he'd made a mistake,' one person said after a photo of the item was shared to Facebook.
VA Cargo General Manager Glen Maloney (pictured) said: 'This flight is one of the many repatriation flights that we're operating to bring our people and important products back to Australia'
Pictured: The empty Virgin Australia flight which landed in Sydney on Thursday
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
