The activities proposed hereafter are still subject to the adoption of the financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2013/01000
- CONTEXT
ECHO Flight is a vital service for most humanitarian partner organisations operating in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, as it would simply not be possible to implement many humanitarian projects without this service. ECHO Flight aims to open up humanitarian access by providing safe, reliable, efficient and cost-effective humanitarian air transport services to remote locations that would otherwise be cut off from the rest of the world.
The ECHO Flight action is implemented on the basis of a service contract. In 2009 a call for tenders was launched in order to renew the DG ECHO1 flight operator. The contract holder until April 2014 is DAC Aviation International Ltd.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) there are no regular, safe and reliable links, either by air or overland, between major population centres such as Goma, Bunia and Kinshasa or between the many remote destinations, particularly in North and South Kivu, Province Orientale, Maniema, Equateur, Katanga and Kasai.
In northern Kenya, ECHO Flight serves remote destinations that are not easily accessible and are not covered by commercial providers or where road access is unsafe. ECHO Flight also contributes to humanitarian projects along the Ethiopian and Somali borders via the destinations operated in Kenya.
ECHO Flight operates the following priorities for Passengers and freight:
1 . Humanitarian projects funded by the European Commission.
2 . Humanitarian projects funded by other donors, or development projects funded by the European Commission.
3 . Development projects funded by other donors
ECHO Flight's limited scale (four planes; targeted geographic scope) and relative flexibility allow it to respond promptly to emergencies such as medical evacuations, security evacuations, or larger-scale requirements. ECHO Flight could be extended as and when required to other regions of Africa if substantial needs for safe, reliable and cost-effective humanitarian air transport were identified.