Notes to Editors
- Chapman Freeborn is the largest air charter broker in the world with 36 offices in 20 countries
- In June 2007, we were voted"Air Cargo Charter Broker of The Year" at the ACW World Air Cargo Awards in Munich
- Chapman Freeborn was established in 1973
- Annual group turnover is over $450m
- The Chapman Freeborn group employs nearly 300 personnel
- We specialise in moving urgent cargo, heavy and outsize pieces, high value commodities, dangerous goods and AOG parts
- Many of the world’s major relief organisations, governments, NGOs and other aid providers use our expertise in transporting relief goods and organising personnel evacuations
- We provide ACMI, wet, damp and dry leasing solutions for many of the world’s largest airlines
- We also provide General Sales Agency (GSA), Station Management and Ground Handling Services
- Our operations division, Paragon Global Flight Support provides 24 hour outsourced flight support
- Chapman Freeborn is listed in the Sunday Times’ Top Track 250 of the biggest mid-market private companies in the UK
For further information on this story, or about the Chapman Freeborn Group, please contact Julie Black or Andy James on +44 (0)1293 572832
Chapman Freeborn Charters First Passenger Flights to Repatriate
Stranded British & French Nationals from Lebanon
20th July 2006
Chapman Freeborn are known for their ability to respond to a crisis and the recent sad events in Lebanon are no exception to this.
As events unfolded and it became apparent that foreign nationals would most likely need to be evacuated from the region, the passenger team in Chapman Freeborn’s London Gatwick office began to line up availability on 
suitable aircraft.
In fact, the requests for air evacuation began to trickle in at Chapman Freeborn offices worldwide including requests on behalf of other overseas governments such as the USA and Australia.
However, it was the UK Foreign and Commonwealth office who were the first to confirm such a need to fly passengers from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus back to the UK, in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) who were co-ordinating the local evacuation from Lebanon to Cyprus by sea.
Lee Goodeve from CF in the UK confirmed the very first flight for British evacuees using American carrier ATA who were transient in Hahn, Germany and the Boeing 757 departed from RAF Akrotiri at on the evening of Wed 19th July, back to Gatwick.
In addition our French and Turkish offices worked in partnership to repatriate some 1,500 French nationals from the region – this time from Adana in Turkey owing to congestion in Larnaca, Cyprus. Within 12 hours of the initial enquiry from an emergency agency acting on behalf of the French government, we lined up the solution. In total, we provided 8 flights for this airlift on 26th July into Paris Charles de Gaulle in a combination of four flights on an Airbus A320, two on Boeing 737-300 and one each on a Boeing 737-400 and an Airbus A300 – operated by four different operators, one French and three Turkish.
This was no mean feat given that this need arose at the height of the Summer holiday period but all flights were operated to schedule and the French media were also on board the first flight to cover the unfolding crisis and resolution. More great team work by Arnaud Pecout in our Paris office and Tekin Ertemel in our Istanbul office.
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