THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IS A time I‘ll primarily re- member for flights to China, Los Angeles and South Korea, which are destinations that Air Serbia does not fly to on its regular routes. These flights were speci- fic for two reasons. Firstly because of the supplies of what was then essential medical equipment, and se- condly because of the chance to get acquainted wi- th new airports and flight procedures in that part of the world. I spent a lot of time aboard planes. As I often hea- ded to the airport during curfew, I can‘t help but reca- ll the empty streets and abandoned highway. This was also the first time that I‘ve been away from my wife and two children for a longer time, but one thing I will cer- tainly remember is celebrating Orthodox Easter in the sky over Mongolia. That was all new and strange to me, even incomprehensible, seeing airports that are incre- dibly crowded under normal circumstances and that were now completely deserted. It feels nice to know that I was doing something that directly benefited every citizen of this country and something that helped all of us to more easily fight the epidemic at that moment. It was important for me to know that every piece of equipment I transport would significantly help someone in performing their duties, would protect someone preventatively, save someo- ne‘s life etc. Every person who contributed with their actions, even small ones, to the struggle against the pande- mic, and who helped during this difficult period, is a hero to me. First and foremost those are certainly do- ctors and all medical staff, then various volunteers, te- achers and even food delivery staff and neighbours who selflessly leapt to assistance. All of them contri- buted and continued working despite the risks, taking care of others and easing life for their fellow citizens, myself included. I personally don‘t think that my contribution was any greater than the aforementioned countrymen. I am certainly proud to have been part of such an important endeavour that implied the procuring of essential me- dical equipment, and those are things that are remem- bered, but if you ask my three-year-old daughter, who watched on television as planes laden with equipment landed, I am a hero to her. I‘m proud of Air Serbia because it is the only airli- ne in this part of the world that can perform long-haul flights, which proved to be extremely important du- ring these difficult moments. There were more than 50 long-haul flights through which we brought medical equipment, which is a real accomplishment for an airli- ne of this size. We also mustn‘t forget the numerous fli- ghts that brought our citizens home from airports in va- rious parts of the world. I‘m proud of my colleagues, because we functioned wonderfully as a team, becau- se we adapted very easily and quickly to the new situa- tion, and because we functioned as one, despite there being more than 10 of us.
AIR SERBIA AND HEROES FROM THE SHADOWS
EASTER IN THE SKY OVER MONGOLIA
Only when I saw empty airports and a completely deserted sky did I realise that this epidemic is much more dangerous than it had seemed to me until that moment. I was excited and motivated to contribute to undertaking the most important tasks by delivering essential medical equipment, explains Captain Marko Ivanović, recalling the difficult period of the state of emergency
Ivanovićeva trogodišnja ćerkica gleda kako tata donosi pomoć iz Kine Ivanović’s three- year-old daughter watches on as daddy brings help from China
podrazumevao nabavku neophodne medicinske opre- me i to su stvari koje se pamte, ali ako pitate moju trogi- dišnju ćerku, koja je na televiziji gledala sletanja aviona sa opremom – ja sam za nju heroj. Ponosan sam na Er Srbiju što je jedina u ovom delu sveta koja može da izvede dugolinijske letove, što se u ovim teškim trenucima pokazalo od izuzetnog značaja. Bilo je više od 50 dugolinijskih letova kojima smo dovezli medicinsku opremu, što je za avio-kompaniju ove veli- čine pravi podvig. Ne smemo ni da zaboravimo mnogo- brojne letove kojima smo naše državljane vraćali kući sa aerodroma iz raznih delova sveta. Ponosan sam na ko- lege jer smo funkcionisali odlično kao tim, što smo se za kratko vreme vrlo lako prilagodili novonastaloj situaci- ji i što smo, a blio nas je ponekad više od deset, funkcio- nisali kao jedan.
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