The passenger and cargo teams have been working around the clock, firstly arranging for search and rescue teams and then transporting more than 2,000 tonnes of aid on behalf of governments and humanitarian organisations.
Ben Dinsdale, Director of Government and Humanitarian Services says that ACS started receiving calls on Monday morning before the second earthquake struck and had arranged for search and rescue teams from the UK and Germany to fly to Gaziantep Airport the next day, along with someone from the Frankfurt office to oversee operations.
He says, “Later in the week we started flying in relief cargo, with our first flight being an entire field hospital on a Boeing 747 from Spain. We have now transported more than 2,000 tonnes of relief cargo on a wide variety of aircraft, including Boeing 737s, 747s, 757s and 777s, Airbus A300s and A330s, and Ilyushin 76s. The cargo has included shelters, tents, blankets, food and drink supplies, as well as the field hospital.”
Cargo flights have come from all over the world and ACS has several more booked for the next couple of weeks.
Dinsdale adds, “It is times like these that we feel we can really help to make a difference in thousands of people’s lives. Our hearts go out to them at this terrible time, but hopefully we can, in some small way, make their lives slightly more bearable for now.”