Cargolux and FedEx have embarked on a mission to airlift medical relief materials destined to Beirut as the city continues to recover following a deadly explosion earlier this month.
A $11 million worth shipment, organised in cooperation with Fedex was flown on August 23 from Memphis to Luxembourg and then boarded on a Cargolux freighter bound for the Middle East. On August 24, the Cargolux flight offering Free of Charge (FOC) transport of 62 tonnes of emergency supplies landed in the Lebanese capital.
Cargolux President & CEO Richard Forson said, “It was important for Cargolux to support this relief shipment and assist the people of Beirut in the aftermath of this terrible explosion. As a recognised leader in the transport of medical and pharmaceutical goods, we are proud to leverage this expertise to help those affected by this tragedy.”
FedEx picked up the shipment that included medicines, medical supplies and PPE from Direct Relief headquarters in Santa Barbara, California and trucked the load to Memphis. On August 22, the supplies were loaded onto a FedEx Express Boeing 777 at the FedEx World Hub. The flight landed the next day afternoon at Luxembourg.
“FedEx has catalysed and made possible a huge boost of urgently needed assistance to people in Beirut by providing its world-class team, logistics expertise and aircraft,” said Direct Relief President and CEO Thomas Tighe. “Direct Relief and the many partners with which we’re working to help, including the American Task Force on Lebanon, are profoundly grateful for FedEx once again providing just an extraordinary example of leadership and action to assist people slammed by a humanitarian crisis.”
“We’ve seen the devastation from the explosion and know people are still in desperate need of help. On behalf of our 500,000 FedEx team members, we are proud to be able to use our global network to provide these lifesaving resources,” said FedEx Express Executive Vice President Global Support Richard Smith. “We are inspired by Direct Relief’s commitment to making a difference in the lives of others and we are honored to work alongside this incredible organisation.”
