Evacuation of Polish citizens from China
At the time when the Chinese authorities formally introduced quarantine there were around 9 million people living in Wuhan. This included a number of foreigners from various countries, among them also Poles. In order to allow Polish citizens to return to their country the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs entered into talks with the Chinese government.
LOT Polish Airlines stopped flights to and from China on 31st of January. The last aircraft arrived from China on the 1st of February, carrying passengers from Poland and other European Union countries. With a number of Poles still remaining in China, the Polish government had to implement special means of support, organizing special transports for its citizens. Luckily, the French government organized a flight for its own citizens and taking aboard foreigners from other EU member states.
Evacuation of 31 Polish citizens, including families with children, was a two-stage operation. The first stage, flying from China to France, was a French responsibility Subsequently, the transport of Polish citizens directly to the country was conducted by the Polish Air Force, or more precisely by the 3rd Air Transport Wing.
The unit is subordinate to the General Command of the Polish Armed Forces and it is responsible for organizing and securing air transport operations on behalf of all services, as well as performing search and rescue missions. The 3rd Wing is also involved in high priority governmental flights, medical evacuation, securing transport for Polish and international operation forces, maintaining search and rescue capabilities, air support for special operations and airborne operations, transport of soldiers and materials (including maintenance of airbridges), air rescue, carrying citizens in deportation flights, and humanitarian aid. The 3rd Air Transport Wing flies in war zones and other dangerous conditions, delivering supplies, support, aid, commanders, and politicians, as well as evacuating Polish citizens from abroad.
The 3rd Air Transport Wing is composed of seven units: the 3rd Air Transport Wing Command in Powidz, the 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, 8th Transport Aviation Base in Balice, 33rd Transport Aviation Base in Powidz, 1st Search and Rescue Group in Swidwin, 2nd Search and Rescue Group in Minsk Mazowiecki, and 3rd Search and Rescue Group in Balice.
The initial plan called for the evacuation of 31 Polish citizens from Hubei province in early February. However, despite calls from the Polish government, one of the Poles decided to remain in China. As other EU countries expressed desire to evacuate their citizens as well, French government chartered an Airbus A380 aircraft operated by the Portuguese airline Hi Fly.
On the 2nd of February the plane carrying 254 evacuated people, including 65 French, 30 Poles, and a combination of citizens of 28 other countries, departed from Wuhan and later on arriving at the French military air base (Base Aérienne 125) in Istres-Le Tubé.
On the same day Polish citizens were transported back to their country aboard two CASA C-295M transport aircraft sent to France from 8th Transport Air Base. After a four hour flight CASA C-295M aircraft arrived at the Wrocław airport. Subsequently, Poles returning from China were transported by a special bus to the 4th Military Clinical Hospital in Wrocław, where they were subject to medical test and quarantine until 19th of February.
30 Poles evacuated from Wuhan were transported from Base Aérienne 125 in Istres-Le Tubé to Wrocław aboard aircraft from 8th TAB. During the flight they were under the care of the Medical Evacuation Team / Photo by: 8th TAB
During the return flight to Poland evacuees were under the care of the Medical Evacuation Team, a special unit formed in 2010, specialized in performing tactical and strategic airborne evacuation. They’re often tasked with evacuating soldiers from the combat zone for advanced medical hospitalization.
The team also involved in the evacuation of Polish citizens injured during the March 2015 terrorist attack on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis or transfer of Poles from the war-torn eastern Ukraine in January and November 2015 and aiding Ukrainian citizens injured during Euromaidan events in late February/early March 2014. On one of the most recent civilian operations the Medical Evacuation Team flew a seriously ill seven month old girl from Warsaw to a life-saving surgery in the USA.
Similar, though smaller evacuation took place again on 21st of February, when two Poles were brought back from Wuhan. Again, the first phase of the transfer was organized by the French government, which chartered a plane for 28 French and 36 citizens of other EU countries. On the same day, CASA C-295M flew both Poles to Chopin airport in Warsaw, from which they were taken to Hospital For Infectious Diseases in Warsaw. After the flight, a subunit of 6th Sremski Chemical Battalion decontaminated the plane and the crew.
On Feb 21 in the afternoon, CASA C-295M from 8th TAB landed in Warsaw with two Poles cared for by the Medical Evacuation Team / Photo by: Dariusz Kłosiński / cpt. Anna Żuchowska
Not only evacuations
Aside from contributing to evacuation of Polish citizens from China, airmen from the 3rd Wing were also engaged in transporting over 19 tons of personal protection equipment from Turkey to Poland. Early morning on 16th April two C-130E Hercules transport aircraft from the 33rd TAB and two CASA C-295M from 8th TAB took off from their bases and after a few hours of flight landed in Istanbul, picking up their cargo. After a few more hours of flight, they landed back in Warsaw, where they were unloaded and decontaminated, and then returned to their respective bases. Whole operation, performed on behalf of the Ministry Of Health, concluded on the same day around midnight.
Four planes from the 3rd wing landed in Istanbul on 16th of April / Photo by: pfc Wojciech Król CO MON
19 tons of PPE were loaded aboard the transport aircraft in Turkey / Photo by: pfc Wojciech Król CO MON
Two C-130E from the 33rd TAB… / Photo by: pfc Wojciech Król CO MON
… and two C-295M from 8th TAB took part in the flight to Turkey / Photo by: 8th TAB.
Unloading of the supplies transported from Turkey taking place at the Chopin airport in Warsaw / Photo by: pfc Wojciech Król CO MON
On the same day soldiers operating at the Wrocław airport supervised unload of 70 tons of personal protection equipment from An-124-100M-150 Rusłan belonging to Antonov Airline that flew in at night from China. Contents of 522 pallets included protective masks, a special equipment for their local production, and shoe protection gear. The flight was co-organized by the Ministry Of National Defense within the umbrella of NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution (SALIS) project, which provides planes for transport of heavy equipment. A number of other states participated in the project, such as Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Coronavirus pandemic caused the SALIS project to include also transport operations of supplies needed to counter COVID-19.
On April 16, 522 pallets filled with shoe protectors, masks, and special equipment for their production were brought to Wrocław on the board of An-124 / Photo by: 8th TAB / Komenda Obsługi Lotniska Wrocław
Similar operation took place a week earlier, when an An-124 delivered PPE purchased by the Industrial Development Agency early in the morning of April 9. The cargo included 180 thousands protective suits, million gloves, and 50 000 goggles for medical personnel.
Soldiers unloading an An-124 transport aircraft / Photo by: 8th TAB / Komenda Obsługi Lotniska Wrocław
Units belonging to the 3rd Air Transport Wing were also engaged in transporting Polish medical personnel abroad, where they supported their colleagues and acquired experience in fighting the coronavirus.
On March 30, 2020, a CASA aircraft from 8th TAB transported 15 medics and other personnel, including doctors from the Military Medical Institute and civilian medics from Polish Center For International Aid, to Italy, where they assisted local personnel in fighting against coronavirus at the intensive care ward of a hospital located in Brescia, Lombardy – a region most affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. At the same time, Polish medics learned how to diagnose, treat and organize care of patients infected by coronavirus, experiences they later shared during an on-line seminary taking place on 16th of April.
Crews and planes from 8th TAB transported Polish medical personnel to and from Italy / Photo by: 8th TAB
he medical personnel returned home on 3rd and 9th of April aboard C-295Ms operating from Balice.
On April 22nd, the crew of the C-295M from 8th TAB transported four medics from the Military Medical Institute to Slovenia, where for three days they supported local colleagues, sharing experiences from the mission in Italy. They were returned back home by aboard aircraft the 8th TAB.
Nine doctors and medics from the Military Medical Institute were sent on a similar, weeklong mission to Chicago on 23rd April. Most of them previously took part in the ‘Italian operation’. This time, they were transported aboard Gulfstream G550.
Four military medics during a flight aboard C-295M to Slovenia / Photo by: cpt. Robert Suchy/CO MON and pfc Wojciech Król/CO MON
23 kwietnia na podobną, tygodniową misję do Chicago wyruszyło 9 lekarzy i ratowników WIM, z których większość była już na medycznej ekspedycji we Włoszech. Tym razem ich transport na pokładzie samolotu Gulfstream G550 zapewniała załoga z 1. Bazy Lotnictwa Transportowego w Warszawie.
Most of the soldiers sent on a medical aid mission to Chicago previously took part in a similar operation in Italy / Photo by: cpt. Robert Suchy/CO MON and pfc Wojciech Król/CO MON
Medics flew to US aboard Gulfstream G550 from 1st TAB in Warsaw / Photo by: cpt. Robert Suchy/CO MON and pfc Wojciech Król/CO MON
Article previously published on MILMAG 02/2020