Airlines manage and promote charity initiatives across a diverse range of issues worldwide and we take a look at a fraction of these.
You may or may not be aware, but today – September 5th – is the International Day of Charity, set up and led by the United Nations. Established to celebrate charitable work as well as to inspire future philanthropic activities, the date of September 5th was chosen as it is also the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. After working tirelessly to minister the poor, sick, orphaned and dying, Mother Teresa died in 1997 aged 87.
Many commercial airlines operate, donate to, or are in partnership to provide charitable support to a range of causes around the world. There are a huge list of causes, including education, environment, disaster relief, conservation, and poverty. Support comes in many forms, and airlines encourage employees to volunteer for charitable causes, whilst others work directly with charities. We take a look at a select few of the many initiatives around the world.
Flying Start is the British Airways charity that focuses on improving the lives and opportunities for disadvantaged young people. In partnership with Comic Relief since 2010, over £24 million has been raised, helping over 800,000 people worldwide. Donations to Flying Start can be made during flights by donating spare currency. Donations are accepted during the flight booking process and can be made directly to the website. Projects include child immunization programs and supporting children at risk of social exclusion.
The Emirates Airline Foundation focuses on helping disadvantaged children, particularly those in extreme poverty, to realize their full potential by helping them with food, housing, health, and education. The objective is to reduce illness and childhood mortality rates. Emirates also supports wildlife conservation projects around the world. There are various ways to donate to the foundation, including inflight donations, bank transfer, and the donation of Skywards Miles. Most of the projects are situated in places that are included in the Emirates flight network. This allows Emirates staff to volunteer and provide assistance to local communities where the charity operates.
KrisFlyer is the frequent flyer program of Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airlines is one of the corporate partners of Make-A-Wish Singapore. This is a charity that aims to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening and critical illnesses, helping over 1,400 children since 2002. KrisFlyer members can donate airmiles to the charity to be used by the beneficiaries of Make-A-Wish Singapore. The miles are redeemed by the beneficiaries for flights and other activities supported by the charity.
This is the Southwest Airlines model for charitable causes, focusing on programs that improve economic, social, and environmental issues. Their Community Outreach program includes things like complimentary travel for patients and family to attend hospital, human trafficking awareness and scholarship programs to enable students to pursue careers in the airline industry.
Southwest also provide disaster and crisis response support with partners including the American Red Cross. To provide an idea of the scale of these programs, Southwest is donating $4 million to provide over 10,000 free roundtrip tickets this year.
In Australia, Qantas operates a community program supporting a range of initiatives. They create work and training opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. They have also committed to increasing spending from Aboriginal and Torres Strait suppliers. Other notable causes include supporting regions in Australia with donations and grants to respond to natural disasters, including bushfires and providing discounted tickets to make last minute travel affordable for people in remote areas. Internationally, through the Change for Good initiative, Qantas passengers have raised huge sums of money for UNICEF over the past 30 years.
These are just a tiny sample of airline charitable projects, and there are many more you may have been made aware of. Please let us know of any other notable charitable causes using the comments box.
Iain is an aviation consultant with many years of experience in airport planning and design. Iain has advised airport operators, investors and aviation regulators on all aspects of airport planning and has extensive experience of writing airport master plans. Based in Scotland