AirAsia Philippines sends much needed help to Odette-stricken areas in Visayas and Mindanao
Manila, 23 December 2021 – AirAsia Philippines continues to send aid to affected areas in Visayas and Mindanao one week after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Odette, internationally named Rai, through its corporate social responsibility umbrella program, alwaysREDy anytime, anywhere.
To date, AirAsia Philippines has flown 85 tons of potable drinking water, food packs and fresh vegetables, clothes and other personal items, medicines, water containers and generators from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as well as support items from various non-government organizations (NGO) partners such as Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF), New Life Community Care Foundation, Operation Smile Philippines, and Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF).
Among priority destinations for the relief operations are the far-flung municipalities in Bohol, Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Tacloban and Puerto Princesa. Allstar Air Force reservists provided additional manpower in handling the cargo.
AirAsia Philippines Spokesperson Steve Dailisan said, “We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of donations from our partners. It only shows that the spirit of Bayanihan is stronger than whatever we face as a nation. Our commitment is to make sure that the help will reach our affected countrymen.”
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that as of 22 December, a total of 2.6 million individuals or 678,043 families in Regions V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, MIMAROPA, and CARAGA were affected by Super Typhoon Odette.
MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao and CARAGA were placed under the State of Calamity for one year to facilitate rehabilitation and relief efforts.
AirAsia Philippines meanwhile has resumed all its domestic flights and has mounted additional recovery flights to facilitate the safe return of Filipinos to the provinces in time for Christmas and New Year.
“We are getting reports that some provinces still don’t have stable internet connections and cannot immediately process approvals of travel requirements such as S-Pass. We advise our guests to utilize the airasia Super App for contactless transactions, process their documents early, and be at the airport at least 3-4 hours before their flight to smoothly facilitate check-in and boarding procedures,” Dailisan added.
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