Air services play an essential role in assisting people in times of disaster, famine and war. They are particularly important in situations where other means of access are obstructed by natural disasters, ongoing conflict or poor road infrastructure. Air transport is vital in delivering food, medical supplies and search and rescue services.
While some of these efforts are undertaken by military or specialist air services, the commercial air transport system provides significant support. Airports become central hubs for rescuers and relief supplies, cargo deliveries and refugee transfers. Airlines assist with the evacuation of those stranded by disasters or conflict.
However, air transport infrastructure is also vulnerable to the same natural hazards that hit their communities. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the local airport had to shift from an average of 35 flights a day to more than 100. With a damaged control tower, the US Federal Aviation Administration was able to bring in a temporary air traffic control facility to support the response effort. Airlines from around the world responded to the call for the movement of rescue teams, food, and medical supplies.
Major manufacturers also routinely respond, using test aircraft, or as part of delivery flights to airlines in the region.
United Nations Humanitarian Air Service
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) coordinates the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which transports aid workers, food and ugent relief items to particularly remote and challenging locations. Air operations are vital because access to conflict and disaster zones is often limited by lack of security, poor road infrastructure and lack of commercial air services.
In 2023, UNHAS airlifted 4,800 metric tonnes of vital relief cargo and more than 388,000 humanitarian and development workers to 21 countries, allowing life-saving projects to be implemented and monitored.
Supporting charities
Many airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and manufacturers are involved in corporate charity work. When disasters strike, many donate at a company and individual level. However, it is the practical support and ability to respond rapidly to emergency situations that makes commercial aviation companies such valuable partners of aid agencies and governments.
But the disaster doesn’t end when the TV cameras go home. Often, recovery efforts go on for months or even years following a disaster, and the re-establishment of scheduled air transport services is a vital part of an area’s economic and social recovery. A number of airlines have established ongoing relationships with aid agencies to provide passenger or cargo services well after the initial crisis has ended.
Supporting UNICEF's Change for Good programme
The Change for Good programme is a partnership between UNICEF and the international airline industry. It began in 1991 with cabin crew and airline staff collecting unused currencies from passengers and converting them into life-saving materials and services for vulnerable children around the world. The programme has evolved over the years and donations can now also be made by smartphone and via a website. Between its launch and September 2022, Change for Good generated over $185 million to help children in more than 190 countries.