ASTRAL AVIATION AND DISASTER RESPONSE NONPROFIT AIRLINK SIGN FIRST PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (MOU) AND BEGIN DISASTER RELIEF SHIPMENTS

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astral Aviation has signed its first formal partnership agreement (MOU) with disaster response nonprofit Airlink (www.airlinkflight.org). In the agreement, Astral Aviation promises to transport 50 tons of humanitarian aid over the next year.

Airlink will utilize the cargo space to support the movement of humanitarian aid across Astral Aviation's network, already leveraging this partnership in order to support a shipment of medicines and medical supplies to South Sudan. The supplies were donated by Airlink's NGO partner, Partners for World Health, to an additional member of Airlink's network, IMA World Health, and will be distributed in flood-affected regions in the Great Upper Nile region, as well as in health facilities along South Sudan's border with Uganda.

Astral Aviation operates a network that connects East Africa to the Middle East, Asia, and Europe via hubs in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Dubai. The agreement will enable nonprofit Airlink to support humanitarian relief efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa.

"As Astral Aviation we see the partnership with Airlink as an important opportunity to support some of the humanitarian efforts in the sub-Saharan region so as to help alleviate the suffering on some of the war-ravaged and disaster stricken population," said Mr. Sanjeev Gadhia, the CEO of Astral Aviation Limited.

"The humanitarian nonprofit community is under huge resource pressures stemming from COVID responses, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and economic downturns. Airline commitments like the one Astral Aviation is making allow Airlink and our nonprofit partners to react to immediate needs. It also enables us to support communities with long-term recovery and systemic issues, such as in healthcare," said Steven J. Smith, President, and CEO of Airlink.

Nonprofit Airlink builds partnerships with aviation sector businesses, like Astral Aviation, to provide free air transport and logistical coordination to a network of 150 humanitarian relief and disaster response nonprofits. Since 2010, Airlink has saved its nonprofit partners over $12 million in air transport costs, resources which these nonprofit network partners could redirect to buying humanitarian aid and funding service delivery. 

In 2022, Airlink responded to more than 40 emergencies, providing transport for 1,300 skilled responders, and over 1,400 tons of humanitarian aid. The aid they transported reached more than 12.5 million people.

About Airlink: (www.airlinkflight.org) Airlink is a global humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering critical aid to communities in crisis by providing free airlift and logistical solutions to nonprofit partners, changing how the humanitarian community responds to disasters worldwide. Its network includes over 150 aid organizations and more than 50 commercial and charter airlines. Since its inception in 2010, Airlink has flown over 10,000 relief workers and transported nearly 8,000,000 pounds of humanitarian cargo, directly helping over 35 million people impacted by natural and man-made disasters.

About Astral Aviation:

Astral Aviation is a dedicated cargo airline which is based at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, and operates a fleet of 15 cargo aircrafts to over 50 destinations in Africa, from its hubs in Nairobi, Johannesburg, Liege, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Celebrating its 23rd Anniversary in 2023, Astral is the fastest growing Cargo Airline in Africa with a diversified fleet capacity which ranges from 5 tons to 110 tons and has recently taken delivery of its Boeing 757-200 Freighter.

For media information: Astral Aviation Media Relations - https://www.astral-aviation.com/news/

Contact: Andrew Williams
Director of Communications
M: (202) 830-8514
E: awilliams@airlinkflight.org

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2140609/Airlink_Inc.jpg