News | 30 October 2023

The Power of Aviation Coming Together

By Richard Goodhead

As many of you will remember, but some may not be aware, Airlink was born out of the ISTAT Foundation many years ago in 2009. While now a separate standalone organization, the links between Airlink and ISTAT and the ISTAT Foundation endure strongly, with Airlink remaining a key and worthy recipient of a donation from the ISTAT Foundation every year. In this brief article, Richard Goodhead, Trustee of the ISTAT Foundation and Chair of its Promotion & Communications Committee, talks to Sandra Walter, Director of Development, about the current challenges facing Airlink and how the ISTAT link lives on.

2020-2023 was a transformational period for Airlink, Walter says, as they faced the dual challenge of simultaneously striving to continue to provide critical aid to communities in crisis through increased demand by NGO partners for responses to COVID and Ukraine War while also expanding their ability to deliver in more places facing climate-change and natural disasters and complex humanitarian crises around the globe. Airlink relies on both partnerships (“in kind”) and funding (cash!) to enable this, and Walter points out that their goal is to leverage the cash 2-5X through the “in kind” resources, with the cash playing a key role in supporting air transportation costs where donated capacity is not available or not enough to meet demand, as well as the “first and last mile” (representing the supplies getting to the airplanes at their origin and from them to the communities suffering at their destination). This is often in parts of the world where airlift from a major hub is all but impossible, and last-mile trucking is often required.  Airlink NGO partners clearly convey how their ability to send aid and responders would, in many cases, not be possible without the support Airlink provides in making, as Walter conveys, “the impossible possible.”

In 2023, Walter points out, there are often over 15 responses live at any one time. The expansion has allowed Airlink to now have a greater regional focus in all the world’s major continents (with the exception of Antarctica) with a growing list of NGOs and partner airlines, with the latter key, stresses Walter, in getting the required resources to put the logistics in place and take cost off the table. For example, Walter states, that during a one-month period in August 2023, Airlink responded to wildfires in Hawaii, earthquakes in Morocco, flooding in Libya, and complex health crises in Mali and Sudan. In regular assessments of its NGO partners, Airlink works to align the routes where they operate with the development of airline partnerships thus meaning Airlink can take on increasingly complex logistical challenges simultaneously. 

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, Walter says. Airlink forecasts that current trends of multiple and escalating crises around the globe will continue. However, Walter laments, the funding is often a function of which crises are receiving media focus rather than the depth of need, with many only being fleetingly reported. This is why the non-restricted element of funding Airlink receives – in other words, cash donations - is vital in enabling the aviation industry to respond irrespective of headline news.

Walter is keen to point out that Airlink’s vision and mission align with the ESG aspirations of many in the corporate world, and she implores organizations to think of Airlink as an essential part of their ESG/CSR thinking. In providing quick and effective relief, often when there is literally no other way beside aviation of providing it, Airlink addresses several of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Walter feels that sometimes the negative press the aviation industry receives from a carbon emissions perspective overlooks the positive impact of the industry, of which Airlink is such a prime example. That said, Walter says, Airlink supports the efforts being made to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint.

I asked Walter if she had a message for ISTAT members, to which her response was, “When you see or hear about a disaster, ask yourself ‘how can I help?’ and think of donating to Airlink so they can deliver the right aid to the right place at the right time.” Furthermore, Walter adds, members don’t need to wait for a disaster in order to support Airlink; general gifts, or annual giving, all help to ensure that the resources required are there so that Airlink can provide the necessary aid. In fact, Walter points out, most disasters don’t get enough aid at the point of occurrence, and a residual level of unrestricted funding is vital to enable Airlink to respond quickly and flexibly.

As our interview draws to a close, I ask Walter specifically about the enduring link between Airlink and ISTAT and the Foundation, and after joking that ISTAT should remain on close terms with its teenage offspring given Airlink’s nearly 15 years, she pauses and says, “I think all members should remember that Airlink is a reflection of ISTAT and a resource for ISTAT members;” a message I think we should all take to heart.