LATAM Cargo sends aid to flood victims in Galápagos islands

LATAM Cargo has helped transport nearly 13 tons of humanitarian aid to communities affected by flooding in the Galápagos Islands.

As part of the LATAM Group’s Solidarity Plane programme, LATAM Ecuador, supported by LATAM Cargo Group flew 1,000 food and hygiene product kits and 9,600 litres of water from Quito, Ecuador to Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Islands, where heavy rains linked to El Niño caused flooding.

The main challenge was finding a suitable aircraft that could land at the planned destination, stressed LATAM Cargo.

Baltra Airport cannot handle a Boeing 767 freighter, the aircraft LATAM Cargo usually uses for missions like this.

The cargo teams did not want to reduce the amount of aid planned and so they decided to use an Airbus A319, utilising both the hold and the cabin seats.

In total, 6,700 kg were loaded into the hold and another 6,100 kg directly on the cabin seats. In total, the flight carried 12,800 kg of humanitarian aid.

That is more than three times the cargo of a regular flight on this aircraft and almost twice what it could carry in the
hold alone, pointed out LATAM Cargo.

Andrés Bianchi, chief executive of LATAM Cargo Group, said: “In an emergency, the main goal is to get aid there as quickly as possible. Because of the restrictions in the Galápagos, meeting that goal meant a Plan B: flying an A319 as a ‘preighter’.

“Being able to carry this out so quickly highlights the creativity, expertise and passion of the LATAM group’s teams.

“Thanks to them, and together with partners such as CIP and Grupo Entregas, we were able to carry more than triple the aid this aircraft normally transports.”

The LATAM Solidarity Plane programme is a corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiative by LATAM Airlines Group that provides free air transport and logistical infrastructure for health, environmental, and emergency-response causes across South America.