Air Charter Service steps up for Libya aid operation
21 / 09 / 2023
Source: Air Charter Service
Charter broker Air Charter Service (ACS) has helped transport more than 500 tons of aid to Libya following the devastating Storm Daniel that hit the country earlier this month.
ACS last weekend carried out flights to Benghazi, Al Abraq and Tobruk airports utilising a range of aircraft including Boeing 747s, Airbus A300s and IL-76s.
More flights are planned for the coming days.
ACS director for government and humanitarian services Ben Dinsdale said: “[The flights are] mostly are carrying aid including shelter equipment, such as tarpaulins, tents and sleeping bags, as well as water purification tablets.
“Our European and Middle East offices have been the busiest in arranging these charters. We are still receiving requests now, but the rate at which they are coming in has slowed down.”
The storm resulted in catastrophic floods, leading to more than 11,000 losing their lives and thousands more displaced.
Just days before there was a devastating earthquake in Morocco that also caused a large loss of life.
“It seems unbelievable that there were two such devastating natural disasters, so near to each other geographically and in such a short period of time – I can’t remember anything remotely similar to this happening before,” added Dinsdale.
“We were at the stage of trying to arrange a number of search and rescue flights into Morocco when the Moroccan government announced that it had restricted aid senders to just four governments.
“Then we heard about Libya, and most governments’ and NGOs’ attention turned to helping the victims there.”
