Volga-Dnepr freighters join Irma relief efforts

Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ fleet of freighters have joined the Hurricane Irma relief effort in the Caribbean and Florida.
The airline has so far operated three flights carrying nearly 175 tonnes of relief goods and equipment, the most recent being a IL-76TD-90VD charter by DSV Air &Sea on 18 September for the Danish Red Cross from Billund to Miami International Airport.
The 25 tonnes included medicines and medical equipment, tents and other equipment to set up a large base camp, such as bedding, a mobile kitchen, office equipment and supplies, an electricity generator, maintenance tools, mobile showers and toilets.
Volga-Dnepr’s first An-124-100 flights to the region on 11 September carried 87 tonnes of food service equipment, generators, motor pumps and spare parts to Pointe-à-Pitre on Guadeloupe. This coincided with a second An-124-100 flight to Bridgetown, Barbados, with a further 60 tonnes of humanitarian cargo.
Group commercial director, Alexander Kraynov, commented: "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.
“For one of the flights we were also able to identify a shorter route via the Azores which helped to reduce the cost of the operation. Given our expertise in humanitarian flights and our specialist services for transporting outsize and heavyweight cargoes, we expect to be supporting the relief and rebuilding programmes in the region for some time to come."