Emirates Airline customers have donated 132 million Skywards Miles from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, to the Emirates Airline Foundation (EAF).
The foundation used the 132 million Skywards Miles to support travel for 35 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on more than 50 medical missions; four NGOs on five engineering missions; and one NGO on two educational missions.
Five countries were the largest beneficiaries: Bangladesh, with more than 66,000 people; South Africa, with about 7,900; Uganda, with around 5,500; Tanzania, with about 2,900; and Ghana, with 2,000.
The President of Emirates Airline and Chairman of EAF, Sir Tim Clark, noted that ‘rather than just donating food to feed the hungry, the [f]oundation provides children with holistic care – including food, clothing, shelter, medical support, and education – that transforms lives, creates livelihoods, helps sustain communities, and leads to a fairer, more just world. And we are helping our customers connect to these communities when they donate funds or their Skywards Miles’.
‘[EAF] is our passion project, and we work with like-minded partners and NGOs globally who aim to reach out to the neglected, ignored, and the poorest communities on the planet’, he added.
The foundation has supported the travel, logistics, and free baggage allowance of 676 doctors, nurses, and medical staff from NGOs. The medical practitioners conducted thousands of free life-saving surgeries, consultations and screenings, and training for local medical staff.
The foundation has also supported more than 10,300 children and 340 teachers by aiding two educational missions, one to South Africa and the other to Tanzania. In conjunction with Engineers without Borders, they have successfully completed water supply and rural electrification projects, installed solar panels and set up computer lab classrooms in Uganda, Ghana and Kenya.
The airline revealed that its Emirates Skywards membership crossed 25 million customers in September 2019. It also revealed that most Skywards members were from the UK, with about 3.2 million members. The US was second with 2.3 million members. Australia and India were third and fourth, with 1.9 million and 1.8 million members, respectively.
Emirates stated that it was adding nearly 10,000 Skywards members a day, or almost seven per minute, further broken down to more than one every ten seconds.
Source: Gulf Business
Photo source: Dushan Hanuska
