ACU OCT- Final Draft

GLOBAL NEWS
Russian cargo carrier rushes relief to
typhoon victims in US territory
LONDON: Russia's heavy cargo
carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines was
t a p p e d t o d e l i v e r c r i t i c a l
humanitarian relief to victims of
Typhoon Mangkhut in the US territory
of Guam off the Pacific Region less
than 24 hours after the storm struck
the island last September.
Volga-Dnepr used the world's
largest cargo aircraft, the Antonov
Airlines AN-255, to deliver 64 tons of
food supplies and bottled water from
California to Guam via Honolulu,
Hawaii. The US Federal Emergency
M a n a g e m e n t A g e n c y ( F E M A )
chartered the flight, reports showed.
Guam is home to the biggest naval
and air bases of the United States in
the Pacific and relief missions are
traditionally conducted by the US
military or are shipped via commercial
flights.
In its application to get special of
Transportation, Volga-Dnepr says no
other civil aircraft operated by US
carriers are able to meet FEMA's
requirements, thus, it was chartered
to do the mission.
Volga-Dnepr Airlines says it has
been responding to humanitarian and
relief calls all over the world since the
1990s. It has performed almost 1,200
flights and delivered more than
75,000 tons of cargo, from heavy
machinery and helicopters for rescue
operations to mobile hospitals, large
volumes of water purification
equipment, tents, and temperaturesensitive
goods such as food supplies
and pharmaceuticals.
Volga Dnepr's unique fleet of 12
giant An-124-100 freighters provides
both nose and rear ramp loading
capabilities as well as onboard cranes
and winches. Five modernised IL-
76TD-90VD are equipped with
expanding rear ramp, hoists and
w i n c h e s a n d m e e t a l l I C A O
requirements for international flight
operations in compliance with the
operations in compliance with the
latest noise and emissions standards.
Both types of aircraft are selfsufficient
in remote locations or
where local infrastructure has been
damaged. This allows emergency
relief management agencies all over
the world to deliver critically-needed
cargo and supplies in what is always a
significant race against time.
With winds of up to 285 kmph,
Typhoon Mangkhut, which struck
Guam on September 10, is the
strongest tropical cyclone recorded
thus far in 2018. It also impacted areas
the nearby US Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, the
Philippines, Taiwan, South China and
Vietnam