Kuehne+Nagel and Qatar Cargo team up for UNICEF charity flights

Forwarder Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) and Qatar Airways Cargo are donating airfreight services to UNICEF, supporting the United Nation’s children’s agency in its global efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The partnership is part of the ‘1 million kilos’ initiative, one aspect of the larger sustainability We Qare project from Qatar Airways Cargo. The Middle East airline is donating one million kilos of freight for humanitarian aid including medical supplies until the end of 2020. The one million kilos are allocated to freight forwarders to give to the charities of their choice.

K+N joined Doha-based Qatar Airways Cargo in the project to ensure that UNICEF cargo is safely and efficiently transported to the aid agency’s global supply hub in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Various essential supplies, including protective equipment, are an important part of UNICEF’s efforts to keep health workers safe so they can continue to deliver quality care.

Yngve Ruud, member of the management board of K+N, responsible for air logistics, commented: “We acknowledge our responsibility and value the vital part we play in today’s world – from ensuring the supply of pharma and healthcare products globally to the distribution of the upcoming Covid-19 vaccine.

“We are ready to leverage our strengths, our multimodal network of 230 locations, our logistics expertise and resources in the vaccine supply chain to support the global response.

“Our collaboration with Qatar Airways Cargo is just a part of a truly global endeavour to defeat the pandemic and make our world more sustainable, more resilient, and, most importantly, healthy.”

Guillaume Halleux, chief officer cargo at Qatar Airways, said: “We Qare is a project that is close to every employee’s heart at Qatar Airways and I believe such projects unite and bring together the industry especially during times of crisis.

“Through the 1 million kilos chapter, we are glad to work with Kuehne+Nagel to transport essential supplies, thereby supporting UNICEF’s global efforts. During the past months, we have also been working with various stakeholders to prepare our readiness plan that will enable seamless, quick and safe logistics of the vaccine to support the global response.”

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Damian Brett

Damian Brett
I have been writing about the freight and logistics industry since 2007 when I joined International Freighting Weekly to cover the shipping sector. After a stint in PR, I have gone on to work for Containerisation International and Lloyds List - where I was editor of container shipping - before joining Air Cargo News in 2015. Contact me on [email protected]