On 10 April 2020, the largest repatriation operation ever for the Austrian Foreign Ministry, its missions and over 7,500 passengers came to an end.
In 39 flights, so-called repatriations, Austrians were brought back home from 29 destinations at the beginning of the pandemic.
A Herculean task, in which we succeeded with the help of several partners, including AUA, and which was a first for all of us,
recalls Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
The operation started with a return flight from Italy on 13 March and then continued with flights around the world. From Mexico to South Africa to Bangkok, the staff of the Austrian missions on the ground worked hard to successfully manage many challenges in times when borders and even airspace for passenger flights were closed within hours. For example, permission to land in Lima was only granted at the last minute for the repatriation from Peru. From Southeast Asian islands scattered over thousands of kilometres and the vastness of the Australian continent, just getting passengers to the departure terminal was already a logistical tour de force. This was also the case in Sydney, where AUA’s longest non-stop flight took off on 31 March. European solidarity in times of crisis was also on board the return flights: from destinations such as Abuja and Moscow, citizens of other EU countries were also given the opportunity to travel home via Vienna. The campaign ended with a flight from New Zealand. On 9 April, the “Spirit of Austria” took off from Christchurch at 16:21 local time, the first AUA flight to leave New Zealand. After stopovers in Auckland and Kuala Lumpur, the approximately 290 passengers were able to leave Vienna safely on 10 April, 9:13 local time.
We were able to bring 7,500 people to Austria in a global crisis. This is an impressive achievement that would not have been possible without the patience and flexibility of the people abroad and the excellent commitment of our staff at the Foreign Ministry and at the embassies,
concludes Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
