Volga-Dnepr joins Hurricane Irma relief efforts across Caribbean

Volga-Dnepr Airlines continued its long history of supporting international humanitarian aid projects by sending heavy-lift aircraft to the Caribbean and Florida regions following the devastation from Hurricane Irma. The airline has so far operated three flights carrying nearly 175 tonnes of relief goods and equipment.

The most recent flight, conducted on Sept. 18, was chartered by DSV Air and Sea for the Danish Red Cross and operated from Billund, Denmark, to Miami International Airport (MIA). The 25 tonnes of cargo onboard the IL-76TD-90VD freighter included medicines and medical equipment, as well as tents and other equipment, such as bedding, a mobile kitchen, office equipment and supplies, an electricity generator, maintenance tools, mobile showers and toilets, which were used to set up a large base camp.

Volga-Dnepr’s first An-124-100 flights to the region, on Sept. 11, carried 87 tonnes of food service equipment, generators, motor pumps and spare parts to Pointe-à-Pitre on the island of Guadeloupe in the southern Caribbean Sea. A second An-124-100 flight to Bridgetown, Barbados, bright another 60 tonnes of humanitarian cargo, including sanitation and cleaning products.

“We have many years of experience of responding to requests for flights following natural disasters and were able to ensure the fast delivery of urgently-needed relief supplies despite the challenging weather conditions in the region thanks to the efforts of our operations personnel,” said Alexander Kraynov, group commercial director at Volga-Dnepr Airlines. “For one of the flights we were also able to identify a shorter route via the Azores Islands, which helped to reduce the cost of the operation.”

Hurricane Irma was the second most powerful Atlantic storm ever recorded and caused devastation across parts of the Caribbean and Florida.