HARMONDSWORTH, England,
November 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
British Airways responded to a UNICEF appeal, which is being
backed by The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, to help the 13 million
victims of the East African crisis by sending a relief flight full
of aid to the region.
In their first joint humanitarian mission, the royal couple
toured a British Airways' relief plane, a Boeing 747, at
Copenhagen airport on Wednesday, November 2 following their visit to
UNICEF's warehouse in Denmark's
capital.
Keith Williams, British Airways'
CEO, said: "We immediately agreed to donate an aircraft to help
UNICEF get their aid to East
Africa. The team at British Airways has launched a number of
these flights in recent years to crisis-hit areas such as
Haiti and Japan so we're well practised in getting the
aircraft and team out as soon as possible. We need to help keep a
focus on the crisis in East Africa
so this is our second relief flight to the region. We're delighted
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be seeing the flight off."
The aircraft, operating under flight number BA9116C, departed
Copenhagen International Airport
at 1800 hours (local time) en route for Nairobi laden with 45 tonnes of UNICEF aid
including life saving emergency medical supplies to help children
affected by diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
The eight-hour flight was operated by a team of three pilots and
four cabin crew. Also on board were British Airways engineering
staff who were responsible for loading and unloading the aid, and a
member of UNICEF's supply staff.
As well as filling the cargo hold, the aircraft's cabins, which
would normally be full of passengers flying to destinations such as
Los Angeles and Hong Kong, were commandeered to ensure as much
aid as possible reaches the stricken region.
UNICEF UK's Executive Director, David
Bull, commented: "We know that when children are
malnourished their immune systems are weakened and they become very
susceptible to life threatening diseases such as cholera and
diarrhoea. We need to help these children urgently. The supplies
being packed on this plane will help UNICEF to save these
children's lives. On behalf of everyone at UNICEF I want to extend
my huge thanks to all at British Airways who have helped make this
happen."
It is more than three months since famine was declared in parts
of East Africa, following the
worst drought in 50 years, which has devastated food sources across
Dijbouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Without rain for two successive
seasons, crops failed and livestock perished. Food prices soared,
forcing at least 600,000 people to flee their villages in search of
food, water and medicine, making treacherous journeys to refugee
camps. At least 13 million people require assistance and half of
those are children.
To donate to UNICEF's East
Africa appeal please visit:
http://www.eastafricacrisis.org.
About British Airways:
British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide
destinations - including flights to Palma, Faro flights, flights to
Berlin, holidays in Maldives and holidays in Dubai. Customers can
save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday
packages, ATOL number is 5985. Passengers are offered added peace
of mind to their holiday plans and the security of travelling with
British Airways. British Airways plc constantly seeks to exceed
customers' expectations, both in terms of the value for money and
quality of the service provided.
Press Contact:
Amanda Allan
Waterside
PO Box 365
Harmondsworth
Middlesex
UB7 0GB
+44(0)20-8738-5100
http://www.ba.com
