Airbus Corporate Foundation and Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen send humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey

35 tonnes of blankets, food and medicine shipped on Turkish Airlines A310-F

Blagnac,  1-3-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — The Airbus Corporate Foundation and its partners Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen / Wings of Help (LOG), Turkish Airlines and Fraport AG have transported 35 tonnes of relief supplies from Frankfurt Airport to Adana, Turkey, today, on a Turkish Airlines A310-F freighter aircraft.

These supplies are destined to the Turkish Red Crescent and will be distributed to people in desperate need in Syrian refugee camps near Adana, among which are many children. The donations were collected by German NGO Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen (Wings of Help) and include food, blankets, baby food and nappies as well as medicine.

Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen spokesman, Mr. Frank Franke said: “It is our major goal to help these people in desperate need. Most of the support for more than 160,000 Syrian Refugees in Turkey is coming out of Turkey. It is time that more help is done from all over the world.””

Dr. Temel Kotil, CEO of Turkish Airlines said: “It was not possible for a big country like Turkey to stay oblivious to the human drama that is going on in Syria. For almost two years now Turkey has been doing its best for the refugees arriving on its soil. And at Turkish Airlines we are doing all we can to transport the relief supplies coming from inside and outside Turkey to their final destination and we will continue to do so. We hope that this tragedy ends as soon as possible.”

Andrea Debbané, Executive Director of the Airbus Foundation, said: “The Airbus Foundation regularly works with LOG and Aviation Sans Frontières, their French counterpart, to coordinate humanitarian missions such as this one. In regards of the desperate situation of these people having fled their country, we feel compelled to help and are proud to contribute, through the Airbus Foundation, in the effort the NGOs do every day. We would also like to thank all our partners involved in this project.”

In recent years, Airbus has built up a global network of airlines and relief organisations to support international humanitarian causes. Delivery flights of new to be delivered aircraft have been used on numerous occasions to transport goods to destinations in need all over the world.

The Airbus Corporate Foundation was created in December 2008 to facilitate charitable activities worldwide within an international network of employees and partners. The organisation focuses its support on three themes: humanitarian and community support, youth development and the environment.

Since its launch in December 2008, the Airbus Corporate Foundation has facilitated some 32 relief or goodwill flights to numerous destinations all over the globe.

For more information on the Airbus Corporate Foundation and its activities, please visit: www.airbuscorporatefoundation.com.

Contacts for the media:

Heiko STOLZKE

Tel.:+49 (0) 40 – 743 73016
Florian SEIDEL
Head of Communications Germany
Airbus Germany

Tel.:+49 40 74 37 24 13
Fax:+49 40 74 37 25 22
Ozge SEVUK
M3 Public Relations, Turkey

Tel.:+90 532 2210772