Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing are continuing their partnership to deliver much-needed aid supplies to organisations across Ethiopia. In December 2019, when the airline took delivery of a new 787 Dreamliner from North Charleston, South Carolina, the jet was loaded with 34,000 lbs (15,422kg) of books and 5,800 lbs (2,631kg) of school supplies, clothing and medical supplies for the flight to the airline’s hub in Addis Ababa.
The organisation Ethiopia Reads will send the books and school supplies to its libraries across Ethiopia, which serve 100,000 children each year. Medical supplies, clothing and hygiene products will be delivered to the Mary Joy Development association, which helps women and youth gain the skills they need to rise out of poverty.
“We are happy to partner with Boeing to carry humanitarian goods on our delivery flights from the US,” said Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam. “As a responsible corporate citizen, we take our responsibility to society seriously and always endeavour to contribute our share to the socioeconomic development of countries around the globe.”
The December flight follows another flight in November when an Ethiopian Airlines B787 carried more than 11,000 lbs (4,990kg) of clothing, personal hygiene items and medical supplies from South Carolina for delivery to the Mekedonia Home for the Elderly and Mentally Disabled and St Paul’s Hospital.
The flights are part of Boeing’s Humanitarian Delivery Flight Program, a collaboration between Boeing, its customers and non-governmental organisations, which delivers humanitarian aid around the world. The programme has delivered more than 1.6 million lbs (0.73 million kg) of humanitarian supplies on more than 200 flights worldwide since the inaugural flight in 1992. To date, Boeing has partnered with Ethiopian Airlines on 39 humanitarian delivery flights, delivering more than 266,000 plbs (120.656kg) of supplies to organisations in Ethiopia.
“Through Boeing’s Humanitarian Delivery Flight Program, and in close collaboration with customers like Ethiopian Airlines and charitable organisations around the world, we are providing important and oftentimes lifesaving resources to those in need,” said Cheri Carter, vice president of Boeing Global Engagement. “We can do so much more when we work together, and Boeing is committed to continuing partnerships like this.”
