Cargolux and Fedex have provided Free of Charge (FOC) transport for medical relief material destined to medical personnel in Beirut, Lebanon, following the explosion that devasted the city earlier this month. The shipment was flown from Memphis to Luxembourg on Sunday 23rd August and boarded a Cargolux freighter bound for the Middle East on Monday 24th August. The flight carried a total of 62 tons of emergency supplies to the Lebanese capital.
FedEx supported this disaster relief effort through its relationship with humanitarian organization Direct Relief. FedEx picked up $11 million worth of medicines, medical supplies and personal protective equipment from Direct Relief headquarters in Santa Barbara, California and trucked the load to Memphis. Late Saturday, Aug. 22, team members loaded those supplies onto a FedEx Express Boeing 777 at the FedEx World Hub. The flight landed at noon in Luxembourg Sunday, Aug. 23, where FedEx worked with Cargolux, which also donated its services, to transport the supplies into Beirut.
Richard Forson, president and chief executive, commented: “It was important for Cargolux to support this relief shipment and assist the people of Beirut in the aftermath of this terrible explosion. As a recognized leader in the transport of medical and pharmaceutical goods, we are proud to leverage this expertise to help those affected by this tragedy”.
“FedEx has catalyzed and made possible a huge boost of urgently needed assistance to people in Beirut by providing its world-class team, logistics expertise and aircraft,” said Direct Relief president and chief executive Thomas Tighe. “Direct Relief and the many partners with which we’re working to help, including the American Task Force on Lebanon, are profoundly grateful for FedEx once again providing just an extraordinary example of leadership and action to assist people slammed by a humanitarian crisis.”
