Air Partner, the leading provider of air charter services to governments, corporates and high net worth individuals, has been called in by tour operators to help evacuate stranded skiers from the French Alps.
LONDON, 2015-1-7 — /Travel PR News/ — The evacuation of holidaymakers, on a number of chartered Boeing 737-800’s, took place between 28 and 29 December, with Air Partner flying passengers from the ski resorts surrounding Chambery, Geneva and Lyon to Gatwick and Luton airports.
Air Partner, which is highly experienced in the provision of air evacuation for corporates and governments, was tasked with the provision of last minute flights, to transport stranded skiers back home, after severe Alpine weather blocked the entrances and exits to numerous ski resorts. This resulted in congested road networks, making it impossible for arriving passengers to reach their resorts as planned and departing passengers to make their original flights home.
Securing high quality aircraft, at short notice, in peak holiday seasons can be a serious logistical challenge. Air Partner called on its extensive network and know-how to offer tour operators caught up in the adverse weather conditions a number of high quality options; ensuring their clients were repatriated as quickly as possible in the difficult circumstances.
Alan Murray, Director of Inclusive Tour Programmes at Air Partner said: “This has been a very difficult time for everyone involved. For those whose travel plans were disrupted by the unexpected weather conditions, for those dealing with the huge logistical issues at the airports and in resort, and for all those who had to give up valuable family and holiday time to help those affected passengers. Despite this backdrop, and the logistics of securing last minute aircraft, we were pleased to help our customers get their clients safely back home.”
Air Partner evacuation and repatriation work
Previously, Air Partner worked around the clock to organise humanitarian aid flights and evacuate more than 12,000 people in just six weeks from across Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, New Zealand and Japan, when far-reaching and unprecedented political upheaval and devastating natural disasters coincided. The Emergency Planning and 24 Hour Operations teams, together with on-call broker specialists, pooled their knowledge and resources to secure suitable aircraft for the evacuations and aid flights. For this mandate, the team also negotiated flight slots, fuel supplies, aircraft handling and visa permissions, as well as post-evacuation onward travel. Air Partner is a valued supplier to many national and international organisations and provides aviation solutions to governments worldwide, including six of the G8 group of governments, NGOs and aid agencies, as well as international and royalty.
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