Volga-Dnepr Airlines Rushes Aid to Haiyan Victims in the Philippines

Volga-Dnepr Airlines delivered aid and relief cargo for the victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

On November 13 IL-76TD-90VD aircraft landed in Lapu-Lapu airport carrying humanitarian supplies from Denmark and Sweden. Cargo on board included generators, tents, food, mobile camp for relief workers, automobiles, motor transport, water purifiers was delivered on behalf of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. The flights were operated under the auspices of the SALIS project.

In the beginning of November Volga-Dnepr Airlines carried 26 tons of aid and relief cargo from Changi (Singapore) to Lapu-Lapu to help those who suffered in the October 15 quake. 485 tents and 150 sheds were transported to disaster area at the request of air charter broker Chapman Freeborn. Volga-Dnepr’s specialists organised the services of third-party freight handlers at the departure and arrival airports for loading and unloading. On-time performance of the flight to the Philippines was one of the pre-conditions of the booking because the delegation of consignor and consignee representatives were expecting the aircraft to arrive within a precise timeframe.

Volga-Dnepr has over 23 years’ experience of participating in international aid and relief missions. Over this period, the airline’s AN-124-100 and IL-76TD-90VD freighter fleet has performed 978 flights and delivered over 65,000 tons of urgently-needed aid and relief cargo to 93 countries worldwide. Its contribution to supporting the fast transportation of humanitarian cargo has been a key part of urgent aid missions around the world, including for victims of the devastating tsunami in South-East Asia (2004), Hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005), the eruption of the Chaiten Volcano in Chile (2008), and earthquakes in Haiti (2010) and Turkey (2011).

International project SALIS (Strategic Airlift Interim Solution) involves 14 nations including Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Finland and Sweden and pools the resources of the participants to charter special aircraft to provide heavy airlift capability.

Typhoon Haiyan became one of the strongest tropical hurricanes in the history of weather observation and affected more than 11 million Philippines citizens. The Philippine earthquake on 15 October, 2013, was the most destructive natural disaster to hit the islands in over 20 years and affected more than 3 million people.