A Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777 freighter departed Frankfurt (FRA) today at 08:01 CET with flight number LH8332. The destination is Fraport TAV Airport Antalya (AYT), where the aircraft is expected to arrive around 13:30 local time. The freighter took off fully loaded with relief supplies, mainly winter clothing, blankets, food, and hygiene items, which are most urgently needed on the ground. The donations came from Turkish communities in Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, companies in the region, and Lufthansa Cargo employees.
The Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary time:matters, which specializes in emergency logistics, and the customs service provider CB customs broker, which also belongs to Lufthansa Cargo, organized the extensive relief operation together with Lufthansa Cargo. Lufthansa Group employees who volunteer in the FRA Community of the HelpAlliance, the Lufthansa Group’s non-profit relief organization, have been supporting Lufthansa Cargo since 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening in consolidating and preparing the cargo for this free relief flight.
The Lufthansa Cargo team at the Istanbul station is in close contact with the disaster relief organization AFAD, which will receive the relief supplies after landing and bring them to the crisis area.
“We are deeply affected by the extent of the destruction in the Turkish-Syrian border region and want to help. The willingness of our employees from the Lufthansa Cargo environment and the Help Alliance to help is enormous, and plans were made immediately to organize a relief flight as quickly as possible,” said Dorothea von Boxberg, Chairwoman of the Executive Board and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo AG.
“The terrible earthquake and the immeasurable suffering of the people in Turkey and Syria make us all very concerned. As an emergency logistics provider, we have already gained a lot of experience in dealing with such events during past crises and disasters. Thus, we were able to operationally prepare this cargo flight with urgently needed relief goods within 72 hours with our professional teams. We were all overwhelmed by the commitment and willingness to help shown by our colleagues and the Turkish communities,” said Alexander Kohnen, Managing Director of time:matters GmbH.
