Airport ensures transport of relief materials to Türkiye

A Turikish Airlines cargo flight with quake relief materials took off from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport on Sunday, heading to Istanbul, capital of Türkiye.

This is the first batch of relief supplies sent to Türkiye from Shenzhen airport since the massive earthquakes struck Türkiye on Feb. 6, Shenzhen Evening News reported. The supplies included 10,000 outdoor jackets donated by Alibaba Group and they would be distributed to the disaster zones by the Turkish disaster prevention department.

A Turish Airlines cargo flight is seen parked on the tarmac of Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport on Sunday. Courtesy of the airport

To ensure the smoother transportation of items critical to the ongoing search and rescue efforts in Türkiye, Shenzhen airport arranged for skilled personnel to assist in customs clearance and freight forwarding, and helped facilitate the transport, cutting the operation time in half.

Staffers from Alibaba Group thanked the airport authority for their assistance. “Thanks to the support and assistance from Shenzhen airport, the materials urgently needed in Türkiye’s relief efforts were shipped there in time,” said one of the staffers who declined to be named.

The staffer said they learned that Türkiye experienced severe cold weather after the earthquakes, so they purchased materials suitable for cold weather. The staffer added that the second batch of relief materials had been purchased and would be shipped to Türkiye soon.

Shenzhen airport has opened a special passage for air transportation of disaster relief materials to Türkiye. Cargo flights carrying materials to the country will be exempted half of the landing charges and parking fees until Feb. 28, airport officials said.

Under airline schedules, the recent number of cargo flights from Shenzhen airport to Istanbul is about four every week. Interested individuals can contact the airport at any time if they need to transport emergency relief materials. Priority will be given to the shipment of these supplies, the airport authority said.