Lufthansa Cargo flies aid supplies for earthquake victims to Turkey

A Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777 freighter took off today at 08:01 CET with flight number LH8332 from Frankfurt (FRA). The destination is Fraport TAV Airport Antalya (AYT), where the aircraft is expected around 13:30 local time. The freighter departed fully loaded with aid supplies, primarily winter clothing, blankets, food, and hygiene products that are urgently needed on site.

(Frankfurt) The donations come from Turkish communities in Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, from companies in the region, as well as from employees of Lufthansa Cargo.

The Lufthansa Cargo subsidiary time:matters, which specializes in emergency logistics, and the customs service provider CB customs broker, also part of Lufthansa Cargo, have organized the extensive aid operation together with Lufthansa Cargo. Employees of the Lufthansa Group, who volunteer in the FRA Community of HelpAlliance, the non-profit aid organization of the Lufthansa Group, have been supporting Lufthansa Cargo since Wednesday evening at 18:00 in consolidating and preparing the cargo for this free aid flight.

In contact with the disaster relief organization

The Lufthansa Cargo team at the Istanbul station is in close contact with the disaster relief organization AFAD, which will receive the aid supplies upon landing and transport 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 to help from our employees in the Lufthansa Cargo environment and the Help Alliance is enormous; plans were immediately made to organize an aid flight as quickly as possible,” said Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo AG.

Overwhelmed by the willingness to help

“The terrible earthquake and the immeasurable suffering of the people in Turkey and Syria deeply affect us all. As emergency logisticians, 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 aid supplies within 72 hours with our professional teams. The commitment and willingness to help from our colleagues and the Turkish communities have overwhelmed us all,” said Alexander Kohnen, Managing Director of time:matters GmbH.

Photo: © Lufthansa Cargo