Virgin Atlantic mit Boeing 747 nach Basra (Irak)

[Iberia]

Virgin Atlantic flog mit einer Boeing 747 nach Basra im Irak. Das Flugzeug war die G-VHOT. Dies war der erste nicht-militärische Flug nach Basra seit 1990.

 

 

Hier ist der Original-Text aus dem Internet:

 

A British passenger plane has landed in Iraq with 60 tonnes of vital medical aid. The Virgin Atlantic 747 touched down at Basra International Airport just hours after President Bush declared hostilities were over. It was loaded with incubators, wheelchairs and life-saving drugs, all in desperately short supply after local hospitals were looted. The passenger jet was the first to fly to Iraq from Britain in 13 years. Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson said flights might now be the best way to bring much-needed supplies to Iraq.

"My belief is that there needs to be literally hundreds of flights like this," he said. He was speaking on the runway at Basra, where his air stewardesses were mobbed by waiting British soldiers. The flight was piloted by an Iraqi-born captain who had not seen his homeland since he fled in the back of a truck in 1981. Marhab "Mike" Abunayla said it was an "emotional" journey for him as he flew the plane into Iraq's airspace and saw the trenches of burning oil, still visible from the sky.

"It was good for me to come back and it will be even better when I get back to Baghdad, where I still have family," he said.

Mr Abunyala, who was one of eight children, left Iraq after one of his brothers was arrested, never to be seen again.

Asked what he thought had happened, he replied: "They have killed him."

The flight also brought Iraqi experts from Britain who will help with efforts to rebuild the country's health infrastructure.

 

Quelle: http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-12304042,00.html

 

 

[ Diese Nachricht wurde geändert von: Iberia am 2003-05-03 09:41 ]