Emergency response Second Relief Flight from Frankfurt for Disaster Victims in the Philippines

Lufthansa Cargo and “Aktion Deutschland Hilft” to fly almost 60 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Manila

Lufthansa Cargo and Germany’s Relief Coalition, “Aktion Deutschland Hilft”, are sending a second relief flight to the Philippines today to support the population affected by typhoon Haiyan. Europe’s leading freight airline is providing the aircraft for the special flight from Frankfurt to Manila free of charge. Flight LH 8476 will depart from Frankfurt Airport today at 12:40 and arrive in the Philippine capital Manila on Saturday 23 November at 11:15 (local time) following one technical stop in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

The MD-11 freighter will be loaded with almost 60 tonnes of humanitarian aid provided by the various different organizations of Germany’s Relief Coalition, Aktion Deutschland Hilft. The organizations include action medeor, Workers’ Samaritan Federation Germany (ASB), HELP – help for self-help, Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe, Malteser International and World Vision Germany. Lufthansa Cargo will be flying urgently required food packages, medical equipment, medicine, water treatment systems and tents to the crisis area for these organizations. The almost 60-tonne cargo will see Lufthansa transport more than double the quantity of humanitarian aid sent to the disaster area in the Philippines on its first relief flight with an Airbus A340-600 on 10 November. The pilots are highly committed to this relief flight and are flying the aircraft on their days off or even interrupting their vacations.

“Although the initial spotlight is already turning away, the situation in the areas destroyed by the typhoon in the Philippines are still in need of our urgent support,” stated Karl Ulrich Garnadt, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. “Humanitarian crises of this nature require relief as quickly as possible, something that only air freight can provide and it goes without saying that we at Lufthansa help where we can.” Lufthansa Cargo and “Aktion Deutschland Hilft”, have been working together closely for the past nine months under the motto “Gemeinsam schneller helfen” (“Providing faster aid together”) to be prepared in the event of natural disasters and enable the establishment of a swift logistics chain worldwide.

“The humanitarian aid that we are sending today is still urgently required by the people in the crises areas, as the need for emergency aid will remain acute in the Philippines for many weeks to come. We are extremely grateful to Lufthansa Cargo for supporting us with this free flight,” stressed Manuela Roßbach, CEO at Aktion Deutschland Hilft.

In Manila, freight forwarder Kühne + Nagel will work with the aid organizations on the ground to organize that the relief gets to the worst-affected regions as quickly as possible.

The Lufthansa Group has a long tradition of relief flights to countries affected by natural disasters, with Lufthansa Cargo also providing humanitarian aid flights following recent catastrophes such as the earthquake in Haiti, the flooding in Pakistan or the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.