Air Charter International Transports De-mining Machine to Afghanistan

DUBAI, UAE, September 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Once again, Air Charter International has shown its capabilities of dealing with difficult air charter missions. The summer of 2011 ended well for the Air Charter International team as they successfully completed the shipment of an outsized de-mining machine from Europe to Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.

For several years now, efforts have been put into place to make Afghanistan a mine free country by 2013. As such several de-mining companies have already been contracted to assist with the process and help the Afghani nationals claim back their land and ensure it is free of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO's).

Air Charter International successfully assisted in the delivery of a specialized de-mining machine and its spare parts to Bagram Airbase. The machine was split up into three pieces and accompanied by a 20 ft container containing tools, spare parts, oil and lubricants. The total weight of the cargo was approx 40 tons heavy and was transported in a Russian Ilyushin 76 ramp loader to Afghanistan.

"This was an extremely complex task which required proper organization and preparation," said Ms. Claire Brugirard, Commercial Manager at Air Charter International. "It is a perfect example of the type of Air Charters where Air Charter International excels and can truly apply its knowledge and provide added value to a customer."

Each year since the de-mining action has started in Afghanistan, over 80,000 anti-personnel mines, 100 anti-tank mines and 2.5 million explosive remnants are being destroyed. As a result mine related casualties have significantly dropped.

The de-mining machine was transported to Bagram for a commercial leader in the environmental remediation of landmine, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) pollution, clearing battlefields and the management of conventional weapons worldwide.

Notes to Editor:

Air Charter International (ACI) a leading aircraft charter and leasing company based in Dubai, UAE, has been in operation since 1994 and covers 4-A region, namely: Arabia, Africa, Asia and Asia Pacific and services long and short term aircraft requirements. ACI has also made a strategic move into Aircraft Management through its 100% owned subsidiary: Jet Ops which operates and manages three Cessna 208A Amphibian seaplanes for a commercial tourism operation named Seawings. Seawings provides seaplane operations within the United Arab Emirates and is the only seaplane sightseeing service in the region, considered a must-do for visitors to Dubai. The resource pool of ACI includes professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds & nationalities with a strong focus on aviation related industry and experience.

Contact: Dilukshi Thomas, Corporate Marketing and Communications Assistant
Company: Air Charter International (Arabia) Ltd
Phone: +97148070808
Email: corpcom@aircharter-international.com 
Website: http://www.aircharter-international.com