When the plane nearly landed in Wuhan, Captain Francisco Javier Martínez surprised to recognize the whole city as a desert.

Francisco Javier Martínez, a 61-year-old pilot, is in charge of flight control of PLM471P to evacuate British and Spanish citizens leaving Wuhan city, Hubei province, China as new outbreak of pneumonia caused by new strain of corona virus (nCoV) ) is raging.

Martínez fully understood the special nature of the flight, but only when his Boeing 747 was close to landing did the captain realize exactly what he, the crew and a small group of British military personnel were approaching. what.

"Wuhan looks like a desert. There are no vehicles on the highway and the airport is completely deserted," he said of the flight to evacuate citizens on January 31. Wuhan authorities imposed orders "inside and outside the country" and restricted the means of transport from January 23 to prevent the virus from spreading.

"It was like a bomb exploded, leaving the city completely empty. No people, no cars, no movement, nothing. Everything was beyond our imagination," the captain added.

Mr. Martínez, who has been a pilot for 40 years, received a call from the leaders of Wamos Air on the morning of January 27 with the question "he is ready to fly the repatriation flight of 120 people, most are English and Spanish, from the city where the onset of corona virus pneumonia was initiated? "

Martínez had the right to refuse, but he agreed, and so did the other three pilots and 13 crew members, two mechanics and a loader.

At 6pm on January 28, the Boeing 747 took off from Barajas airport, Madrid capital, to Hanoi, stopping on the journey to Wuhan. On board were also 4 medical experts of the British army.

"British military physicians taught us how to wear masks and gloves, brief information about the corona virus and how it is transmitted," Martínez said. "They told us that this is an important but not dangerous task: the basic thing is to treat it with respect. I told the crew that it must be serious but also fun." .

After a 20-hour break in Hanoi, the flight crew flew to Wuhan.

"From the beginning, we knew we were doing something important, but when we flew from Hanoi to Wuhan, we realized we were on a very important rescue mission," he said. "We are lifeboats for a group of people who need to leave Wuhan."

When they landed in Wuhan at 14:59 minutes on January 31, they were greeted by a "ghost town" and two Chinese officials in tight protective suits. Crew members wear separate masks and gloves on board, while British government equipment is unloaded.

Passengers then start boarding the plane. Where people sit is carefully recorded to actively isolate themselves when anyone has symptoms of nCoV infection. "It was as if they were returning home and leaving everything behind," Martínez said.

The flight from Wuhan to Brize Norton Base, Oxfordshire, England, took 11 hours and 40 minutes and the captain was "very comfortable" because the weather in the areas they traveled was favorable.

"The crew always checks to see if everyone is healthy and calm, is there any case to be aware of," he said. "Luckily everyone relaxed, as if the bad thing was behind them."

British citizens and physicians boarded the plane in Brize Norton, while Spanish doctors boarded the plane to continue on to the Torrejón base, just outside Madrid. "All passengers are really happy and eager to return to their homeland, knowing that they will be quarantined for a while," the captain said.

Martínez and his crew were later on leave and were not required to quarantine. He was pleased that the group's effort was acknowledged.

"The most memorable memory will be about a solidarity crew," he said. "We are more like a family than a crew."

A friend joked that Martínez was a hero. "I said 'no, I'm just doing my job,'" he said. "But I guess this task is more than a job. Sometimes it's like being a priest or firefighter. Anyway, let's get back to reality now. I'll go shopping and then help my wife make lunch." ".

Countries with nCoV-infected patients. Click on the image to see details.