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SINGAPORE: As the plane descended, Singapore Airlines (SIA) senior cabin crew Gan Bee Bee heard a familiar announcement from a colleague: \u201cTo all Singaporeans and residents of Singapore, a warm welcome home\u201d.<\/p>\n
It is a phrase the in-flight manager has heard many times over her 25-year career with the airline. But when recounting it to CNA on Friday (Apr 17), Ms Gan teared up.<\/p>\n
She was among the crew on board SIA\u2019s repatriation flight on Mar 7, which brought 152 Singaporeans and their dependents home from Muscat, Oman, amid the outbreak of the Middle East war, with emotions running high throughout the journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe announcement was made by my lead stewardess, who was seated beside me, and she said, \u2018I don\u2019t know whether I can say it properly without tearing\u2019, so I said, \u2018You know what? You are representing us, you are representing Singaporeans, and we are really back home.\u201d<\/p>\n
After landing and finally getting some rest, Ms Gan came across social media posts showing passengers reuniting with loved ones at Changi Airport. It was then that the significance of the mission fully sank in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, for our flight \u2026 it is really home for them, because the 152 (passengers) were all Singaporeans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dozens of SIA staff and crew, including Ms Gan, were involved in operating SQ8001, the first of two repatriation flights launched by the national carrier and organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that evacuated Singaporeans and some foreigners from the conflict zone.<\/p>\n
At the helm of the flight was chief pilot Leonard Wee. The veteran pilot, with more than 20 years of experience, said that when he put out a call for volunteers, the response was overwhelming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand the importance of bringing our fellow Singaporeans home. We understand how they feel. We could empathise, because they have been in that region for some time, and I think we found that there was purpose in what we needed to do,\u201d said Captain Wee.<\/p>\n
While assembling the flight’s crew was straightforward, seeking his 13-year-old daughter\u2019s blessing proved more difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was somewhat emotional, she was somewhat concerned, but I reassured her that we’ve done all the preparation,\u201d said Capt Wee.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shared with her that whatever you’re feeling, there’s someone else, some other family, some other person’s daughter in Singapore, feeling exactly like you, and I am in the fortunate position to try to help that person – so we are going to do this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n