Airbus responds to Indonesian earthquake

The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), the Indonesian Government and the Airbus Foundation have combined to provide humanitarian relief in Palu, Indonesia with the deployment of a RMAF A400M aircraft.

The aircraft arrived in Jakarta’s Halim Air Base on 4 October with supplies and relief materials to Palu, which has recently been damaged by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The A400M brought fuel trucks and excavators into the city, as well as food and drink, clothes and medical supplies, which were donated by the Indonesian Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises.

The Airbus Foundation has assisted efforts by providing 45 flight hours with a H125 helicopter to assist with the distribution of these supplies, as well as supporting Medecins sans Frontières by enabling the organisation to contract a H155 operator.

“Everyone has seen the heart-breaking devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Palu, and our thoughts are with victims and their families who have lost so much,” said Andrea Debbane, Executive Director of the Airbus Foundation. “This is the least that we can do together with our partners, who have provided much-needed logistical support and contributed a lot to this urgent call for help.”

Airbus is also harnessing its satellite capabilities, using images captured from them for emergency response purposes following the activation of the International Charter for Space.

The earthquake and tsunami has caused the deaths of around 1,400 people, while a further 50,000 are still unaccounted for.