A second Air Serv Cessna Caravan has landed in Juba, South Sudan, marking the expansion of a program led by the aviation nonprofit to provide a regional air bridge for humanitarian agencies dealing with the worsening refugee crisis.
In 2021, Air Serv launched an independent air service program in response to the limited options available to agencies conducting humanitarian operations in the area. South Sudan’s extreme rainy seasons, deficient ground infrastructure, and civil unrest have diminished aid organizations’ ability to move cargo and personnel by road.
Nevertheless, humanitarian response field teams rarely enjoy transportation budgets large enough to allow them to deliver the goods and services needed by the populations they serve. Through grants, donor funding, and local partnerships, Air Serv has implemented flight services now used by some 50 local and international nongovernmental organizations.
Earlier this year, Air Serv deployed additional crew to Juba to support transporting aid workers and moving humanitarian cargo by air. Flight frequency requests increased exponentially following the violent events and civil war that broke out in the capital city of Khartoum in April.
The conflict, which quickly spread to the Darfur region, has resulted in millions of internally displaced people and refugees who have escaped to neighboring countries. Thousands of those who fled to South Sudan have found themselves stranded at border camps with little to no resources. Air Serv has conducted relief flights to and from transit centers in the South Sudanese towns of Renk, Malakal, and Paloich.
“There was no question about the need for additional support in South Sudan,” said Henk Boneschans, Air Serv’s managing director in Africa. “There is a significant humanitarian crisis there and while South Sudan presents a challenging operating environment, our dedicated crew and support staff are highly experienced and adept at working under such demanding conditions. Serving the humanitarian community is at the core of our mission, and it’s what we excel at.”
The Juba program marks the organization’s first independently funded operation in nearly 15 years and offers both scheduled services and ad hoc charters to serve humanitarian partners. Air Serv also acts as an implementing partner for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service in eastern Africa. Supported by the acquisition of a Redbird Cessna Caravan G1000 flight simulator in 2022, the organization established a formal on-the-job training program for aviation professionals at its facilities in Entebbe, Uganda.