As the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted air travel worldwide, we were asked by a global Mormon church to help repatriate 60 missionaries who were stranded in Africa. In addition to the logistical challenges caused by coronavirus, the missionaries were located in several African countries and hailed from multiple destinations, making for a complex charter to collect them and fly them home.
Mormon missionaries, Philippines/Australia
As the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted air travel worldwide, we were asked by a global Mormon church to help repatriate 60 missionaries who were stranded in Africa. In addition to the logistical challenges caused by coronavirus, the missionaries were located in several African countries and hailed from multiple destinations, making for a complex charter to collect them and fly them home.
OUR SOLUTION
Route: Ghana > Ivory Coast > Sierra Leone > Philippines > Australia
Aircraft: Boeing 787-900
The client initially wanted to arrange individual charters from each country, however we were confident we could complete the entire repatriation mission with one single charter. We sourced a Boeing 787-900, as it could fly non-stop for long distances and had enough room for each passenger to travel with up to 80kg luggage. Chartering such a large aircraft also meant we had the capacity to transport 150 Australian officials home on the same flight, which their government had expressed an interest in doing.
Borders were closed during the pandemic, so we had to obtain all of the necessary permits and landing rights through political and diplomatic channels. The Australian government agreed to allow Pacific Islanders to enter the country along with Australian citizens, however Sydney Airport then refused to honour this exemption. Our team worked quickly to reroute the flight to Brisbane, re-submitting the necessary applications and ensuring everything still ran according to schedule.
THE FINER DETAILS
Global Network: Our offices in Johannesburg, Dubai and Sydney worked together to secure the required permits and exemptions to facilitate this complex charter. The main broker on the project worked around the clock to ensure the smooth coordination of the operation across three different time zones.
Extra Touches: We arranged a personalised arrival at each destination, along with VIP catering onboard the flight.
