DUBAI, UAE, February 7, 2011 — In the past few weeks the world watched with pride and shock as the citizens of Middle Eastern Egypt stood up in unison to the almost thirty years of dictatorship from the existing government.
This political unrest caused a panic among expats in the country and official consulates began making arrangements for the evacuation of their citizens in Egypt.
Air Charter International was commissioned to transport these passengers from Alexandria to Prague and Washington DC. The Commercial Sales team at Air Charter International worked 24/7 on making sure that all passengers were transported safely out of Egypt.
“Because of the urgency of the situation, it was imperative that we get our clients out of Egypt immediately,” said Commercial Sales Manager Claire Brugirard. The first flight to Prague departed on the 31st of January and the second flight to Washington DC departed on the 1st of February.
“Since the first priority was to get the passengers to a safe point outside Egypt, both flights were sent to Prague,” said Ms. Brugirard. She further explained that the second flight reached Prague and was then rerouted to Washington DC from there.
Air Charter International’s Commercial Sales team sourced a Boeing 737-800 for the journey. “We sourced two of these proven passenger aircraft for the trip because they were the safest and most economical for our clients.”
Ms. Brugirard further stated that the Boeing 737-800 is also spacious enough to accommodate last minute passengers, common during emergency evacuations.
“It happened on these flights as well. On the first flight we had an additional 13 passengers and on the second we had 1 more passenger, all which joined at the last minute. In anticipation of these additional passengers we enlisted a B737-800 for these flights.”
The Commercial Sales team at Air Charter International did encounter some challenges while organizing these flights. “Due to the ongoing political unrest in Egypt, there was difficulty in establishing a steady communication with the local authorities.”
This, Ms. Brugirard explained, made obtaining permits, that were also requested on short notice extremely difficult. “Our team worked around the clock to ensure that all the paperwork was in order so that the US citizens and students were safely evacuated out of Egypt.”
Experts in crisis management, Air Charter International’s Commercial Sales team monitored both emergency charter flights from start to finish. “At all times we kept an eye on status of these flights and the clients fully informed on their progress.”
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