SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Boeing announced on Wednesday that the company and Ethiopian Airlines have partnered to transport more than 12,000 pounds of humanitarian aid supplies to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, using the airline's three recently delivered 737-8 airplanes.
"Ethiopian Airlines has a long history of collaborating with Boeing on humanitarian flights," said Mesfin Tasew, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. "This is our 43rd humanitarian delivery with Boeing, and we are proud to partner with their team to once again bring this support home to Addis Ababa."
The humanitarian delivery flights departed Boeing's Everett and Seattle Delivery Centers on Nov. 24, Nov. 26 and Dec. 4 and contained medical supplies, books and school supplies for those in need.
Boeing's Humanitarian Delivery Flight Program was launched in 1992 as a collaboration between the company and its customers to help transport humanitarian aid supplies on newly delivered airplanes with otherwise empty cargo holds.
To date, there have been more than 200 humanitarian delivery flights. More than 1.7 million pounds of critical supplies have been delivered since the program's inception, the company said. ■