The big repatriation operation has been running for a week. Approximately 100,000 Germans had to cancel their vacation because flight connections have been cut and borders closed in the fight against the coronavirus. From Egypt to Chile and Mexico to Peru - the German government flies travellers home with chartered planes from all parts of the world.
In addition, many tour operators themselves brought back stranded customers. These customers have experienced real dramas. For example, the cruise ship Norwegian Jewel, with around 2000 guests and 1000 crew members on a South Seas voyage, was refused a docking first in Fiji and then in New Zealand. The states referred to restrictions to combat Covid-19.
The luxury ship therefore sailed to Hawaii after a fuel stop in American Samoa. There, after some back and forth and a long wait, the approximately 3000 people were finally able to disembark to begin their journey home. Among them were also some Germans.
The result was a record flight to Germany. On Wednesday (March 25) shortly before noon a Boeing 747 of Wamos Air landed in Frankfurt. The jumbo jet of the Spanish airline covered the 12,000 kilometre route from Honolulu to the German banking metropolis non-stop on the most direct route.
The journey took just under 15 hours. The Boeing 747 crossed the northern Central Pacific, then the USA, Newfoundland, Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, until it landed on runway 07 at 11:27 am.
The Corona crisis has already led to several extraordinary flights. Recently, a Boeing 787-9 of Air Tahiti Nui completed the 15,715-kilometer route from Papeete in the South Seas to Paris non-stop. Qantas is currently flying a couple of times with Airbus A380 non-stop from Darwin in northern Australia to London, because Singapore no longer allows transit.
