The World Food Programme has sent humanitarian aid to the Syrian population who have fled to Lebanon with a flight departing from the “T.V. Orazio Pierozzi” Air Force Detachment in Brindisi. The humanitarian flight was organized by the United Nations Humanitarian Response Office (UNHRD), managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), which since 2000 has been hosting the Syrian population who have fled to Lebanon following the crisis that affected the country within the Brindisi base.
The aircraft, an Airbus 300 from the Lebanese company Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA), landed in Brindisi at approximately 06:37 and, after the loading operations, departed for Beirut at approximately 11:43.
The material transported, sent on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Italian Cooperation for Development, will be delivered to the High Relief Commission of the Lebanese government.
The Brindisi Air Force Detachment, which was previously the headquarters of the 32nd Air Wing, under the command of the 2nd Logistics Command, provides support for the United Nations“ peacekeeping activities, ensuring 24/7 technical and medical assistance to aircraft passing through NATO countries and providing logistical and administrative support to all the Air Force units present at the base.
Following agreements between the General Staff and the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), the detachment also manages the control of commercial air traffic: during 2011 the Air Traffic Control Service handled 22,000 movements, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year.
