Notes to Editors
- Chapman Freeborn is the largest air charter broker in the world with 32 offices in 22 countries
- Chapman Freeborn was established in 1973
- Annual group turnover is over $450m
- The Chapman Freeborn group now employs over 250 personnel
- The passenger department provide air charters to a client base which includes travel agents, tour operators, MICE travel organisers and governments
- The cargo department specialise in moving urgent air cargo, heavy and outsize pieces, high value commodities, dangerous goods and AOG parts
- The company was voted Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year at the ACW World Air Cargo Awards in 2007 and 2008
- Many of the world’s major relief organisations, governments, NGOs and other aid providers use the company’s expertise in transporting relief goods and organising personnel evacuations
- Chapman Freeborn also provide ACMI, wet, damp and dry leasing solutions for many of the world’s largest airlines
- The Chapman Freeborn group also provide General Sales Agency (GSA), Station Management and Ground Handling Services
- The 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 ensure safe passage for cruise passengers
11th December 2008
Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has provided flights for hundreds of passengers who were evacuated from a luxury cruise ship due to the growing threat from pirates around Somalia.
Almost 350 passengers travelling from Genoa to Dubai disembarked from the 150-metre MV Columbus in Yemen amid safety concerns as it prepared to sail through the pirate-plagued waters of the Gulf of Aden.
Chapman Freeborn's Dubai office responded swiftly to a request from its client to assist in transporting the passengers to Dubai - providing three B737-800 aircraft for the operation.
Elderly passengers were flown directly to Dubai from Hodeida as a priority, while the remaining passengers were provided a tour of the ancient city of Sana'a and the surrounding area before departing on two further charters later the same day.
Chapman Freeborn also dispatched representatives to Yemen in advance of the operation to make preparations and accompanied the passengers onboard to further ensure the flights ran smoothly.
Once the evacuation was successfully completed, the captain of the Columbus and skeleton staff continued on the ship's scheduled path through the dangerous Gulf of Aden.
The passengers are due to rejoin the ship in Salalah, Oman, after enjoying a three day break in Dubai.
Chapman Freeborn's James Coak comments:
"In the travel industry passenger safety is always the number one priority, and we were pleased to be able to assist our client by organising these charter flights.
"As a company we are well rehearsed in evacuation and repatriation operations, and our offices in the UAE are perfectly situated to respond to urgent air charter requirements in the region."
Picture: MV Columbus
Web: www.chapman-freeborn.com
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