Second humanitarian aid flight

“Wings of Help”, Payback and Lufthansa Cargo transported 50 tons of humanitarian aid to Kenya

The humanitarian aid organization “Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen / Wings of Help”, together with Payback, Lufthansa Cargo as well as other partners started its second humanitarian aid flight to Kenya on the 21st of September at 2:05 AM CET. On board the MD-11 freighter were approximately 50 tons of vitally needed humanitarian aid such as medicine and food destined for the suffering population in East Africa.

The hunger crisis in East Africa has escalated in the past few weeks. In the opinion of many experts, however, the crisis has not yet reached its peak. Cross-borders, more than twelve million people are dependent upon aid from humanitarian organizations. Every day, local foodstuffs are being increasingly depleted and aid shipments from foreign countries are sometimes the only means to effectively help the starving population.

The bonus program “Payback” has played a leading role in the realization of the humanitarian aid flights. Participants in the program waived their rights to premiums and vouchers and donated their points to the project “Flight against Hunger” which was expressly set up for this purpose. Prof. Erich Greipl representing the Playback partners and Member of the Board of Directors of the Otto Beisheim Group and the Otto Beisheim Holding, emphasized: “We are extremely pleased, that our initiative has been supported by the Payback customers with so much enthusiasm. Each and every point is important and helps.”

Lufthansa Cargo’s CEO and Chairman Karl Ulrich Garnadt, explained why the cargo airline involved itself once again: “The situation in East Africa remains critical. As an airline, we have the means to transport the life sustaining humanitarian aid which has been donated to where it is most desperately needed. Therefore, for us it goes without saying that after the first humanitarian aid flight in the middle of August we would once again be supporting this aid transport.”

Additional partners which were supporting the humanitarian aid flight were the Fraport AG, the German air traffic control, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, EADS, Coppenrath Pas-tries GmbH as well as the organization Pharmacists Help e.V and the nonprofit association WMF-Compassion.