Air Charter Service braced for Syria evacuations

Matt Purton, commercial jets director, said: “This week we have been busy putting together a plan of action for air operations into and out of Syria, in anticipation of potential evacuations. We worked with our office in Dubai to put together a comprehensive strategy preparing all the airlines, airfields, insurance requirements and permissions needed so that we are able to extract personnel as soon as is required.”

ACS is experienced in mass evacuations having prepared similar plans last year during the Arab spring, flying 15,000 foreign nationals out of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya following the political uprisings. “This time last year we were working around the clock to get people out of the affected areas. This included setting up an airbridge to Malta to have a quicker turnaround of aircraft, and having staff on the ground in order to ensure smooth operations.”
During the crises last year ACS helped a range of ex-patriots of various nationalities flee the affected countries, including government officials and diplomats, as well as corporate directors and staff. 

“Preparation is key for events such as this, and we are ready”, said Purton