The free flight award for outstanding athletes of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by AirAsia is back as sportsmen and women from the ten-country bloc are performing well at the ongoing 2016 Rio Paralympics.
The Malaysia-based carrier “will be giving free flights for life for all gold medal winners” at the Paralympic Games in Brazil, CEO Tony Fernandes said on his Instagram account on Tuesday.
Those athletes who come home with at least a silver or bronze medal will receive five and three years of free flights with AirAsia, respectively, according to his post.
Fernandes announced the decision in a lengthy caption for a collage photo of seven ASEAN Paralympic medalists, including Vietnamese weightlifter Le Van Cong, who claimed Vietnam’s first-ever Paralympic gold medal on Friday.
“[I] thought the Summer Olympics were amazing, but the Paralympics has showed me what determination is all about,” Fernandes wrote.
“Thanks guys and girls for giving all of us the spirit to never give up despite all the obstacles in front of us.”
A photo posted by Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) on Sep 12, 2016 at 4:20am PDT
As of Wednesday, Vietnam had four medalists in Rio, including a silver by swimmer Vo Thanh Tung, two bronzes by weightlifter Dang Thi Phuong Linh and javelin thrower Cao Ngoc Hung and the gold of Cong.
Last month AirAsia also announced a similar award for ASEAN medalists at the Rio 2016 Olympics, with the gold winners also receiving free flights for life, and five and two years for silver and bronze medalists.
Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh, who claimed a gold and a silver at the Summer Games, was among the recipients.
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