Virgin Atlantic operated the first relief supply flight to Basra, bringing approximately 60 tons of medical supplies to Iraq. Virgin's 747 - 400 became the first non-military aircraft to land in Iraq since the war. Working along side the British Military, Virgin Atlantic has been assisting in the re-opening of Basra airport.
Virgin has been liaising with the government and key aid agencies to determine what sort of aid is a priority and how many flights they will require. In addition, the airline is also flying in essential medical equipment as diverse as incubators, heart defibrillators and ECG machines.
"The pharmaceutical companies and a variety of medical aid organizations, from the moment we asked them to help, have been working around the clock and have supplied over three million dollars of drugs and much needed hospital equipment free of charge,” said Chairman of Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson.
Virgin Atlantic has previously flown from London to Iraq. In 1990 the airline operated a number of aid flights and the only hostage release flight from Baghdad during the first Gulf conflict. As soon as it is feasible Virgin Atlantic is ready to reintroduce scheduled air services between Iraq and the UK, which have been suspended since 1990. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
