Lufthansa Cargo relief flight for earthquake victims in Japan

In cooperation with the EU Commission, the cargo carrier is flying 70 tonnes of relief supplies to

Tokyo

Lufthansa Cargo and the EU Commission are putting on a relief flight today with urgent supplies for the Japanese people devastated by the earthquake. The cargo carrier is providing an MD-11 freighter free of charge for the special flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo. On board are around 70 tonnes of relief supplies, especially blankets urgently required for people suffering from the freez­ing wintry weather in the north of Japan. The flight was organised together with the EU Commis­sion. The relief supplies were donated by the governments of Denmark, the Netherlands and Lithuania.

"It is only natural for Lufthansa Cargo to render fast and unbureaucratic aid in such a humanitar­ian catastrophe," said Lufthansa Cargo Chairman Karl Ulrich Garnadt. "After initial contacts with the EU Commission at the weekend, we organised the relief flight within hours." Lufthansa Cargo also provided free relief flights for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and the people hit by the flooding catastrophe in Pakistan.

The Lufthansa Cargo freighter will be taking off from Frankfurt Airport at 20:05 hours on Wednes­day. After a re-fuelling stopover in Moscow, the crew headed by Captain Claus Richter, Lufthansa Cargo Vice President Transport Management and Flight Operations, is expected in Tokyo at about 18:35 hours on Thursday evening. From Tokyo, the relief supplies will be transported the quickest possible way to the devastated quake-stricken regions in north Japan.

Photos of the aircraft loading in Frankfurt will be available on Thursday, from 10.00 hours, on the following link:

http://mediabase.lufthansa.com/mediabase/Access.do?lnk=1&cid=8411&chk=531b0914270e12 ab4b14207dad6676a2