WFP Aviation ANNUAL REPORT Aviation Branch OMLA, WFP HQ

Transcription

1 WFP Aviation ANNUAL REPORT 2008 Aviation Branch OMLA, WFP HQ

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Financial Highlights 5 Special Air Operations 6 Emergency Air Operations 16 Ad-hoc Air Services 17 Aviation Safety 18 Other Developments 19 2

3 Executive Summary When emergency strikes and perdures, often the only way to reach beneficiaries is by air. Without air service, it would be impossible for humanitarian workers to access to populations in need or deliver medicines and urgent supplies on time. The role of aviation is crucial in all the countries where WFP has established services from Afghanistan to Sudan, Somalia and Chad. The operation of WFP Aviation showed a significant increase this year. WFP-UNHAS chartered aircraft carried 361,000 passengers and 15,200 metric tons of cargo, flying over 47,000 hours. Compared to 2007, the number of passengers and the tons of cargo increased respectively by 12% and 35%. To carry out missions, 58 aircraft were chartered for long-term operations in 16 countries as well as 73 strategic airlifts were performed worldwide. The annual total expenditure was close to US$ 155 million. Year Hours Passengers Cargo(MT) , ,000 15, , ,000 11, , ,000 32, , , , , , , , , , , ,000 95, ,000 91, ,000 The passenger breakdown of WFP Aviation service is UN agencies (60%), NGO partners (30%) and donors and media (10%). This indicates that WFP Aviation serves the global humanitarian community as the service provider of choice. Ad-hoc flights were executed to transport 2,100 metric tons of food and non-food items (e.g., blankets, shelters, medical kit), working closely with other UN agencies including UNICEF, UNHCR, FAO and international NGO partners, namely MSF, MAF and World Vision. For emergency response, special air operations were launched in Mozambique, Madagascar, Myanmar and Haiti. In total, WFP chartered 18 helicopters for transportation of more than 22,000 passengers and 6,800 metric tonnes to reach the most affected people for immediate assistance. Medical and security evacuation flights were executed in Somalia, Mozambique, Chad and Myanmar this year. Despite the growing demands for common air services, WFP Aviation faces serious funding shortage which led to the reduction or temporary suspension of vital air services in several countries. Therefore, it is imperative to secure sustainable funding mechanism for UNHAS operations. Due to shortfall of funding, essential services were disrupted in several countries like Central African Republic Sudan and Niger. The project plans could not be fully implemented mainly due to lack of available resources at the required time. The lack of sustainable funding with visibility of less than two months, is affecting significantly the overall quality of operations. It hinders WFP Aviation from entering cost-efficient contractual agreements for aircraft chartering, establishing long-term planning with air operators and maintaining capacity to provide crucial medical and security evacuation to UN and NGO staff. In order to sustain vital air services to international humanitarian community, options for sustainable funding could be to have either a yearly allocation of CERF funding to protracted operations to ensure basic requirements in terms of mobility and security are covered, or to adopt a similar funding mechanism as the one used by UN-DSS where each agency contributes to the cost of the service in a specific country according to its staffing level in the country. WFP Aviation continued its collaboration with TNT, conducting Aviation Training in 2008 inviting 280 participants from WFP, other UN agencies, NGOs and national Civil Aviation Authorities. The WFP Air Transport Manual (ATM) was published in November 2008, which was developed for the use and guidance of WFP aviation staff in order to ensure that all chartered flights are planned and executed in accordance with WFP s policies and requirements. 3

4 Financial and Operational Highlights

5 Financial Highlights Annual income Summary of Annual Income US$million Total budget planned (a) 193 Income from donor contribution Income from recovery 51.8 WFP advance 3.1 Total income 2008 (b) Project shortfall (a-b) 23.2 Percentage 12.0% WFP Aviation budgeted close to US$193 million to provide Special Air Operations to the humanitarian community. The total income received was US$169 million during the year leading to 12% funding shortfall. Annual expenditure Annual Expenditure US$million Project category Operational ISC Total Special Operations LTSH Special Account funded Special Account Elimination* $155.8 Total cost of the air operations in 2008 amounted to US$155 million, which is 53% higher than the cost reported in 2007 (US$102 million). Apart from the regular ongoing aviation activities in Sudan, Chad, WAC, CAR, Afghanistan and Somalia, the air operations played crucial role during WFP s Emergency response to natural disasters in Myanmar, Haiti, Mozambique and Madagascar. However, some of the activities originally planned could not be fully implemented mainly due to lack of available resources at the required time. Contributions by donors WFP Aviation received 122 different contributions from 19 different donors had to be secured to keep the operations afloat. Funding from CERF represented the largest part of financing in 2008, amounting to US$ 28 million. ECHO was the second largest contributor, amounting to US$25 million followed by USA (US$15million) and UK (US$14million). Contribution by Donor Donor Amount(US$) Contribution (%) CERF 28,061, % AUSTRALIA 3,367, % BELGIUM 646, % CANADA 6,266, % DENMARK 1,371, % ECHO 24,925, % FINLAND 936, % FRANCE 626, % GERMANY 1,295, % IRELAND 1,415, % ITALY 64, % LUXEMBURG 660, % NETHERLANDS 5,276, % NORWAY 1,223, % SPAIN 4,583, % SWEDEN 500, % SWITZERLAND 1,881, % UNITED KINGDOM 14,432, % USA 15,085, % WFP (Private Donors) 2,296, % Total 114,920, % Challenges Sustainable Funding Despite the growing demands of air services, uncertainty on the confirmation date, on the amount and on the conditions of attribution of funding prevents any kind of long-term forecasting and operational planning. The lack of sustainable funding with visibility of less than two months is hindering significantly the overall quality of operations in several ways: Entering cost-efficient contractual agreements for aircraft chartering Establishing long-term planning with air operators Maintaining capacity to provide crucial medical and security evacuation to UN and NGO staff. Therefore, it is crucial to look for more sustainable funding sources for UNHAS operations. Options for sustainable funding could be to have either a yearly allocation of CERF funding to protracted operations to ensure basic requirements in terms of mobility and security are covered, or to adopt a similar funding mechanism as the one used by UN- DSS where each agency contributes to the cost of the service in a specific country according to its staffing level in the country. 5

6 Special Operations Somalia Despite present insecurity in many parts of south and central Somalia, the humanitarian community continues providing support to the local population. The aid-workers are highly dependent on UNHAS operations to travel in and out of Somalia and within the country. In addition, it is critical for UNHAS to maintain the current capacity for medical and security evacuations. The recent events in the country, including resurgence of hostilities, destruction of aircraft and piracy on the high seas have resulted in the increase of operational costs. On the other side, due to the current security problems, the number of staff deployed has reduced; making UNHAS more dependent on donor contributions, rather than cost recovery. Passengers transported in Somalia by Month Pax 2007 Pax The unstable political situation in Somalia has resulted in a high level of insecurity that makes the availability of humanitarian air service crucial to support relief programs and deliver humanitarian assistance in Somalia. It is also critical to ensure aircraft capacity remains continuously available in Somalia and Kenya for medical and security evacuations. After the bomb attack in UN offices in Hargeysa on 27 October 2008, WFP UNHAS carried out medical and security evacuations of UN staff to neighbouring countries. Operational Review Performance Chartered aircraft 6 6 Hours flown 5,034 5,086 Passenger 16,157 15,341 Cargo (MT) WFP UNHAS chartered 2 B-200, 1 Dash 8, 1 Caravan, 1 Dash 5 and 1 B-1900 and carried 16,157 passengers to 20 destinations in UN agencies are the main users of WFP UNHAS service. Most of the NGOs use EU flights which are fully funded for them. 0 Financial Review January February March April May June July August September October November December The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$11.5million and the project cost in 2008 was US$10.7 million. Revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$15.2million and this revenue is being carried forward to cover cost of activities in With the current resources, the operations will sustain only until 31 July The project operates on a partial cost recovery basis. The operation generates an average of US$350,000 per month from revenue of ticket sales. In 2008, this project was supported by CERF, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and Spain. Somalia SO Humanitarian Air Service in support of Relief Organizations in Somalia (Project duration: 1 August July 2010) 6

7 Chad This increase resulted from UNHAS carrying out 42 medical evacuations from Chad to Cameroon during the rebellion in February, and organizing 20 special flights for diplomatic missions on behalf of UN and NGOs throughout the year. In addition, 10 new user organizations (mainly NGOs) were registered to the UNHAS service this year. The introduction of regional link between Chad and Cameroon also contributed to the overall growth. WFP UNHAS in Chad is providing air services for UN agencies and NGOs offering humanitarian assistance to Sudanese and Central African Refugees, host populations and internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in the north-east and southern Chad. Apart from the DPKO and ICRC missions, which provide some passenger air services for their own staff, WFP UNHAS remains the only safe and reliable mode of transportation to meet the needs of the entire humanitarian community in the country. Operational Review Performance Chartered aircraft 6 5 Hours Flown 5,420 3,489 Passengers 43,739 26,352 Cargo (MT) The Chad air operation utilized 2 B-200, 1 Dash 8, 2 C-208 and 1 C-208B serving 10 locations. In 2008, UNHAS carried 44,000 passengers and 164 metric tons of cargo, which showed significant increase of 66% and 113% respectively, compared to In 2008, over 100 UN Agencies, NGOs, donor organizations and Governments benefited from the air transport service provided by WFP in Chad and in the sub-region. The service benefits an average of 60% NGO against 38% UN and 2% diplomatic bodies and others (e.g. government agencies, special missions and the media). Financial Review The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$11.4million. The amount included provision for chartering additional aircraft in support of Chadian refugees in Yaoundé. However, the activity was never resourced and the services were provided with the existing fleet. The total cost in 2008 was US$11.4million, and the balance of 2008 costs was covered by contributions received in Revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$7.1million. The project s current resources will allow operations until 31 January However, supported by WFP advance given against forecasted ECHO contribution, the project remains operational. Chad operation is fully funded by donor s contributions. In 2008, the operation was supported by CERF, UK, USA, ECHO and Switzerland. Passengers Transported in Chad by Month 5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Pax 2007 Pax 2008 January February March April May June July August September October November December Chad SO WFP Humanitarian Air Service in Chad in Support of EMOP (Project Duration: 29 December December 2009) 7

8 Central African Republic Financial Review The insecurity in the Central African Republic (CAR) resulting from acts of banditry, the presence of militants hostile to the current regime, foreign militants and armies as well as the general proliferation of small arms has now reached such a level that relief workers in the region can no longer travel safely by road to reach their areas of operations. Consequently, air travel is crucial to the provision of an effective and timely humanitarian response to internally displaced persons, and host populations in the whole of the CAR, which has been on the increase. Given the lack of adequate medical facilities and the instability in CAR and in the region, the air service has also been used for medical and security evacuations. The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$4.9million. The original plan was based on 2 aircraft, however, the funding constraints led to the reduction of aircraft capacity. The annual project cost was US$3.4million. Revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$3.7million. The project s current resources will allow operations until 28 February Despite the increasing demands for passenger and cargo transport this year, the financial resources were not sufficient to maintain the operational capacity. Therefore, this project is at stake to sustain its operations if there is no further funding. In 2008, the operation was supported by CERF, ECHO, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Denmark. Operational Review Performance Chartered Aircraft 1 2 Hours Flown 1,605 1,205 Passengers 4,707 2,950 Cargo (MT) WFP UNHAS CAR operated with 1 aircraft: the 19-seat LET 410 to reach the 14 locations within the country where relief agencies and NGOs are providing humanitarian assistance. In 2008, the number of passengers has increased about 60% when compared to The original budget approved was for two aircraft; however, the fleet was reduced to one aircraft (LET-410) due to the funding constraints. CAR SO Provision of safe, efficient and sufficient air transport services to the humanitarian community in Central African Republic (Project Duration: 25 October-30 June 2009) 8

9 Sudan funded by UNHCR), 5 DHC-8, 2 Twin Otter, 3 PAC 750, 2 Dornier J-328 and 5 Mi-8. It served in a total of 108 destinations, 61 in North/Darfur and 47 in South Sudan. The Sudan operations are based in Khartoum with 4 fixed-wing aircraft. In the Southern Sudan, 11 small-sized fixed wings are operating based in Juba, Malakal, Rumbek, Wau and Loki. In Darfur, 5 helicopters and 3 jets are based from El-Fasher, El-Genina and Nyala. Sudan remained the largest WFP UNHAS air operation, accounting for more than half of the global humanitarian passenger service. UNHAS Sudan carried 210,000 people and 1,600 metric tons of cargo flying 23,000 hours to serve 61 destinations in North and Darfur and 47 in South Sudan. In Darfur, WFP UNHAS operates with helicopters due to the insecurity and poor infrastructure, which requires higher operating cost to provide the air services in the country. Sudan humanitarian air operation was initiated in 2004 in response to the Darfur Emergency, while in the south a parallel operation under full cost recovery has been in place for over 10 years. To date, security situation in Sudan remains volatile and continues to impede humanitarian operations, particularly in Darfur, Abyei and Northern Bahr El Ghazal. Surface transport remains extremely dangerous and allows very limited access which leaves air transport as the only secure transport option. Domestic commercial air transport is not available in most of the locations to where the humanitarian aid community needs to travel and where the exiting services are unreliable and compliance with maintenance and safety regulations can not be guaranteed. Operational Review Performance Chartered Aircraft Hours Flown 22,570 30,949 Passengers 206, ,048 Cargo (MT) 1,576 5,850 The Sudan operation utilizes 18 fixed-wing aircraft and 5 helicopters, namely 8 C-208 (one of which has been chartered under a TSA signed between UNHCR and WFP, and fully 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Passengers Transported in Sudan by Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Due to funding constraints, UNHAS Sudan had to temporarily reduce the number of destinations in Darfur this year. Passenger profile shows that UN agencies (31%) and IO (37%) and NGOs (24%) are using the WFP UNHAS service in 2008, which indicates that UNHAS, provides the transportation backbone to the entire humanitarian community in Sudan. WFP Aviation also signed technical support agreement with UNHCR for managing the aircraft as a cost recovery basis. 9 Pax 2007 Pax 2008

10 Financial Review The project budget was estimated at US$77million and the actual expenditure was US$57million in The budget planned were not fully implanted into the activities because UNHAS faced the funding constraints resulted from not being able to receive the amount funding at the required time. As of December 2008, the revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$70million. The project s current resources will allow operations till 31 March This project was supported by CERF, ECHO, Canada, Ireland, USA, Spain, Belgium, France and Switzerland, as well as private donors. Sudan SO Provision of Humanitarian Air services in Sudan (Project Duration: 1 January December 2009) Ethiopia key coordination and monitoring centers in this region. The operation will continue contributing to the recommended enhancement of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia by providing air support for both passenger and cargo between Addis Ababa and various zones in Somali Region of Ethiopia where there is poor road and airport/airstrip infrastructure, no commercial air transport alternatives, distribution points are far apart and accessibility is hampered by insecurity. Financial Review The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$1.2million and the total cost in 2008 was US$922,000. In the beginning of this year, the operation did not receive sufficient funding, so the operational planning was adjusted based on the available funding. The revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$1.4million. The balance is being carried forward to cover cost of activities in The project s current resources will allow operations until 31 March This project was supported by CERF, USA and Spain in Operational Review Performance 2008 Chartered Aircraft 1 Hours Flown 728 Passengers 3,091 Cargo (MT) 29 In 2008, the Ethiopia UNHAS carried 3,000 passengers and 30 metric tons of cargo with one C-208B from Addis Ababa to Degehabur, Jijiga, Gode and Korahe for 5 days a week. This operation was launched by WFP to meet the requirement for the passenger movement of the humanitarian community in the Somali region of Ethiopia to support the monitoring of WFP and other humanitarian programmes, since there are no commercial flights to all the Ethiopia SO Interagency Passenger Air Services for the Somali Region in Ethiopia (Project Duration: 15 November February 2009) 10

11 West Africa Coastal Guinea, Sierra Leon, Liberia and Côte d Ivoire Kissidougou Nzerekore Harper Financial Review The project budget was estimated at US$6.3million and the actual expenditure was US$5million in The revenue received amounted to US$1.7million. The balance of 2008 costs was covered by the IRA. The project s current resources will allow operating only until 30 January However, supported by advance from the working capital of the Aviation Special Account, the project remains operational. The WFP air operations continue to be vital to humanitarian operations in the region. A continued lack of security-cleared commercial flights in the involved countries, the closure of UNAMSIL and the subsequent reduction of DPKO flights (including the ending of service from Freetown to Monrovia and Accra) has resulted in the User Group Committees (UGC) of each country requesting that WFP extend the service of SO in order to continue providing air services in 2007 and Due to the significant shortfall of funding, WFP UNHAS is facing difficulties to maintain this vital operation, already one fleet has been reduced and the services to Ivory Coast are being suspended. The humanitarian coordinators in all countries of the region are alerted of the UNHAS funding shortfalls. If no new donations are received within next 2 weeks, the remaining activities will be suspended by mid March Operational Review Performance Chartered Aircraft 2 3 Hours Flown 1,917 1,740 Passengers 12,409 11,410 Cargo (MT) The base of the operation was relocated to the more-central (and now secure) Monrovia (Liberia). The change of base and the fleet enabled further improvements of the service through two weekly rotations within Guinea, Liberia and the Ivory Coast. WFP UNHAS utilizes 2 aircraft, namely a B-1900 and a C Due to high operating cost and shortage of funding situation, WFP and ICRC agreed to share one aircraft. In 2008, the fleet has flown almost 1,900 hours and transported above 56 metric tons of cargo and about 12,000 passengers. West Africa Republic SO Air Passenger Service in West Africa Coastal Countries (Project Duration: 1 May April 2009) 11

12 Niger WFP Aviation launched the Special Operation (SO) to respond to challenges posed by deteriorating security situation across the northern and eastern Niger and the lack of safe and reliable air services in the region which restricted relief workers access to safe travel, hampering the capacity of the humanitarian community to respond to emergency needs in June Operational Review Performance 2008 (Jun-Dec) Chartered Aircraft 2 Hours Flown 269 Passengers 1,872 Cargo (MT) 3.7 Under this SO, WFP has provided safe and cost effective air transport services to the humanitarian community in Niger and within the region. This operation is based in Nimaey with B-1900 flying to Zinder and Maradi. The passenger profiles on board were from NGO (75%), UN Agencies (25%) and Donors/Embassies/Corporations (5%). Air service is proving to be more cost-effective given the circumstances of road insecurity. According to a study conducted by the Niger Country Office, air travel can save almost $1,000 per passenger compared to road trips 1. In addition, air service also provides easy and speedy reach to more beneficiaries. The aircraft chartered for the Niger Air Operation was changed from a 32-seater Dornier to a 19- seater B 1900 due to the lack of funding. Financial Review 1 The number was calculated based on the assumption that the car and airplane transporting 28 passengers. The travel time is 4 days by road and 2 hours by airplane. One car takes 2 passengers per way, and B-1900 carry 14 passengers per one way, average 70% load factor. The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$3.4million. The total expenditure in 2008 was US$2.1million and this balance of expenditure was covered by the IRA. The total revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$1.8million. This operation faces funding shortage to sustain its operation despite the needs of humanitarian passengers. The project s current resources will allow operations until 31 March 2009 (with IRA). However if the IRA is to be repaid, the operation is likely to suspend its service unless there is immediate contributions from donors. In 2008, the project was supported by CERF, Luxemburg and Spain. Niger Provision of safe, efficient and sufficient air transport services to the humanitarian community in Niger and within the region (Project Duration: 6 June December 2009) Democratic of Congo Republic Air travel is crucial for humanitarian actors as well as donors in order to reach the beneficiaries and provide an effective and timely humanitarian response throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo. The previous WFP Aviation Special Operations in DRC was closed due to the lack of requirement on 31 March However, international humanitarian community in DRC faces significant difficulties in finding safe, reliable air transport. Therefore, the humanitarian community have called WFP to resume the humanitarian air service connecting Kinshasa to other provincial cities. WFP Aviation arranged one Dornier- J328 from Sudan to launch this service, and the first flight was executed on 20 November to carry passengers mainly in Kinshasa, Goma and Bukavu. However, due to the insufficient funding for sustaining the operations as well as the coordination with user groups, this operation was suspended from 15 December for one month. It is expected to restart the service in 2009, subject to needs of the humanitarian community as well as the availability of resources. The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$5.4 million and the cost for two months of operations in 2008 was US$502,000. The revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$477,000. Democratic Republic of Congo SO Provision of humanitarian air services (Project Duration: 1 May April 2009) 12

13 Afghanistan WFP/UNHAS was established as a UN interagency common service to provide safe, efficient, responsive and cost effective passenger and cargo air transport services for the humanitarian and development community involved in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan. It must be noted that some aviation services are provided to DPKO/UNAMA, including the refuelling of DPKO/UNAMA aircraft and helicopters. Operational Review Performance Chartered Aircraft 3 4 Hours Flown 2,894 2,740 Passengers 34,708 45,090 Cargo (MT) In the beginning of 2008, the UNHAS in Afghanistan chartered 3 aircraft, namely 2 B and 1 DC-9-32 based in Kabul. In November, WFP Aviation doubled the capacity from the 2 B-1900 (19 seater) to 1 DASH-8 (32 seater) and 1 EMB 120 (30 seater) based in Kabul to meet the demands for air service due to deterioration of security in the country. In 2008, the fleet flew more than 2,900 hours carrying almost 35,000 passengers and 560 metric tons of cargo. There has been a decrease in the number of passengers due to capacity constraints that could not cater to all booking requirements. The other reason was that some of the NGOs and diplomats used commercial airlines instead of UNHAS. It is expected that the capacity increase will enable UNHAS to resume several destinations per sortie and maintain the fleet level for possible security evacuations. Financial Review The project budget was estimated at US$20million to meet the requirements and the total project expenditure of the operation was US$15.4million in Due to the funding shortage, the operation planning was adjusted. The revenue (donor s contributions and cost recovery) was US$15.8million in Afghanistan SO operates on a cost recovery basis. Income generated from sale of air tickets is about US$11million per year, which covers more than 70% of the total costs. The project s current resources will allow this operation until 15 March This operation was supported by CERF, Germany, USA, Luxemburg and Spain. Afghanistan SO United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (Project Duration: 1 April March 2009) 13

14 Sri Lanka Due to closure of the land route between Colombo and Jaffna, the UN Country Team requested WFP to establish an air cell and to provide an air service to the humanitarian community in Sri Lanka. The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) includes passenger and cargo movement as well as special flights needed for assessments or medical/security evacuations. Operational Review Performance Chartered Aircraft 2 3 Hours Flown Passengers Cargo (MT) In 2008, the Sri Lanka UNHAS chartered 2 aircraft. One FK 27/500 was chartered from January to June on ad-hoc basis and one B- 200 from July to November on a long-term agreement. In 2008, following the safety and quality control s recommendations, the operational activities are being revised, and a dedicated aircraft (B-200) was contracted for this operation. Due to the funding shortage, decreasing demand and lack of continuous support from the humanitarian community and donors, the operation shut down in the first week of November Financial Review The project budget in 2008 was estimated at US$2.5million and the actual cost in 2008 was US$722,056. The planned activities could not be fully implemented due to lack of funding, as well as decreasing interest from the humanitarian community. Revenue received in 2008 amounted to US$779,970. In 2008, the operation received support from CERF and Switzerland. Sri Lanka SO provision of humanitarian air service in Sri Lanka project duration: 20 November December 2008 Technical Service Agreement Congo Brazzaville WFP accepted the official request from the High Level Committee on Management (HLCM) in 2003 to administer common air transport services to the UN humanitarian agencies. WFP Aviation provides air service on behalf of UNHCR as per Technical Service Agreement (TSA), chartering an aircraft LET- 410, for the regional transportation of passengers in Congo-Brazzaville (RoC), Congo-Kinshasa (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR) with the operational base in Brazzaville. The aircraft flew 1,118 hours carrying 3,790 passengers and 175 metric tons of cargo in This TSA is fully funded by UNHCR and WFP oversees the aircraft operations for UNHCR. Local flight following services is provided by MONUC and the field staffing structure is provided by the UNHCR offices in Brazzaville, Kinshasa and Bangui. Kenya WFP Aviation has chartered a B-200 based in Nairobi, on behalf of UNHCR for the transportation of passengers. Although WFP has thus far no direct involvement in the detailed management of the aircraft, it is planned to ensure this operation is incorporated into the WFP UNHAS Somalia overall management for improved transparency and safety. The aircraft carried 5,417 passengers with 21 metric tons of cargo in This TSA is fully funded by UNHCR. The average monthly cost for this service is US$ 78,250, which includes the payment for contracted flight hours and the Aviation Management Cost Recovery fee. Tanzania WFP Aviation has chartered an aircraft, namely a C-208, on behalf of UNHCR for the transportation of passengers out of Mwanza. The aircraft carried 2,500 passengers and 87 metric tons of cargo, flying 780 hours in This TSA is fully funded by UNHCR. WFP manages the aircraft for UNHCR, yet local aircraft following services and field staffing structure are provided by the UNHCR office in Tanzania. The average monthly cost for this service is US$ 38,500, which includes the payment for contracted flight hours and the Aviation Management Cost Recovery fee. 14

15 Emergency & Ad-hoc Operations 15

16 Emergency Air Operations Mozambique Haiti An SO was approved to provide augmented humanitarian air and logistics support to WFP, UN agencies and Cooperating Partners assisting more than 95,000 displaced and affected populations in central and northern Mozambique as well as the neighbouring areas of Zimbabwe and Zambia. 3 Mi-8 helicopters were contracted to transport personnel and relief supplies on behalf of the humanitarian community based in Caia. It carried 856 passengers and 1,212 metric tons of cargo from January to May The total cost for this emergency operation was US$2.7million. Madagascar The operation provides 3 heavy-lift helicopters, namely 2 Mi-8T and 1 Mi-171 to ensure transport by air of food, and other humanitarian supplies mainly to the Gonaïves area rendered inaccessible by surface transport. During the 4 months of operations, the fleet flew above 651 hours, transported about 2,800 passengers and 958 metric tons of cargo. The total cost US$5.1million and the revenue was US$8.7million. The activities will be completed on 15 February 2009 and the access of resources will be reprogrammed to the non-aviation activities in the same area. This project is supported by Canada, ECHO, Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, UK and CERF. An SO was launched from 27 February 2008, in response to the Cyclone Ivan that ravaged the North East of Madagascar. UNHAS deployed a Mi-8 helicopter to Madagascar to assist the humanitarian community to transport key relief items. The helicopter carried 255 passengers and 254 metric tons of cargo during the operation. The SO lasted until 11 May 2008 with a cost of US$ 722,141. Myanmar In response to Cyclone Nargis that struck the southern coastal regions of Myanmar in May 2008, a Special Operation (SO) was launched to provide logistics augmentation and coordination in support of the entire humanitarian community. Ten helicopters were chartered for transportation of more than 20,000 passengers 5,000 metric tonnes of cargo within Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar. The total cost of project was US$28million. The project is fully supported by Australia, Canada, Denmark, ECHO, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK, France, USA and CERF. 16

17 Ad-hoc Air Operations WFP Aviation also offers one-time air services, also known as Ad-hoc Air Services, to respond to a specific purpose or mission requirement as stated by a particular client. Funding is provided directly by the client, who is generally the user of the service. In general, WFP Aviation uses the Aviation Special Account to pre-finance the ad-hoc services, while awaiting payments from clients. This enables WFP Aviation to provide the required service relatively swiftly. From the beginning of the year until December 2008, WFP Aviation provided Ad-Hoc air freight service charters and executive passenger service charters to external clients, namely OCHA, IRISH AID, FAO, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFO, and UNSESCO, as well as to governments and embassies, transporting 2,100 metric tons of humanitarian cargo with the cost of US$12million. WFP Country Offices, which channel requests through the Regional Bureau or Country Offices. Ad-hoc flights were operated in a wide variety of locations, including Ghana, Chad, Somalia, Nepal, Ethiopia, Mali, DRC, Afghanistan and Sudan. 17

18 Aviation Safety WFP s Aviation Safety Unit (ASU) also played an active role to ensure an acceptable level of safety in all WFP aviation operations. The ASU comprises the ASU office in HQ and Regional Aviation Safety Offices (RASO) in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Sharjah. Together with ASU HQ in Rome, these offices are responsible for monitoring the compliance of WFP contracted air carriers against international standards and regulations and best practices in the industry. To promote the aviation safety in humanitarian community, WFP Regional Aviation Safety Offices conducted 6 ICAO Safety Management System (SMS) and Human Factors courses in the different regions. More than 150 aviation personnel from WFP, air carriers and local aviation safety authorities attended the trainings. In turn, these trainings will benefit the safety of WFP flights as well as the development of the aviation safety in the countries/regions. In 2008, the ASU has processed a total of 1443 occurrence reports of which 697 were related with WFP chartered aircraft. A total of 90 different audits and inspections to assess the risk level of air carriers and the field operations were carried out during the year. The results from the analysis of occurrence reports and from safety audits are essential to establish safety priorities and to guide the risk management of air operations. The ASU compiled 55 ASU Regional and HQ summaries and analytic reports as well as 2 handbooks containing 13 Safety Recommendations and 13 Safety Advisories. The handbooks were distributed to WFP Aviation internally and to air carriers and others stakeholders externally. 18

19 Other Developments The WFP Air Transport Manual The WFP Air Transport Manual (ATM) was published in November 2008, which was developed for the use and guidance of aviation staff in WFP in order to ensure that all air transport flights are planned and executed in accordance with WFP s policies and requirements. GPS Tracking System GPS tracking system was implemented to ensure that all aircraft chartered by WFP Aviation could be actively traced. Aviation Training Aviation Training continued its collaboration with TNT, providing Aviation Training to 287 participants from WFP, other UN agencies, NGOs and national civil aviation authorities in The training took place in West Africa Coastal region, Sudan, Niger, Congo and Chad. Technology-driven Air Operations Flight Management Application WFP Aviation continues to make efforts to operate WFP UNHAS more technology advanced by setting up booking and flight following software across operations. In 2008, it was the remarkable year to launch the Flight Management Application (FMA) to most of the UNHAS Country Offices including Chad, Somalia, Central African Republic, Niger as well as UNHAS Afghanistan operation offices in Islamabad, Pakistan and Dubai, UAE. Moreover, it is planning to extend the roll-out by early 2009 in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and WAC. The implementation of Flight Management Application in WFP UNHAS operations will enable to handle booking flights requested from agencies, flight operational planning, financial transactions, invoicing and payment more efficiently. Promoting Our Work WFP Aviation attended several conferences and workshops in 2008 in order to promote WFP UNHAS as a humanitarian air service provider to potential partners including humanitarian stakeholders, commercial and military aviation industry. International Aid and trade fair - Geneva Jan 08 Global logistics meeting: Cairo, Feb 08 ATAG meeting: Montreal, Mar 08 Veatal Conference: Beijing, Apr 08 Air transport congress: Berlin, May 08 Gulf Safety Committee: Dubai, Jun 08 Civil Protection Workshop - Geneva, Jun 08 International Airship Convention - Freidrichschafen, Oct 08 CAPC seminar: Antalya, Oct 08 Military Airlift Conference:Seville, Nov 08 19

20 Information Management Unit Aviation Branch OMLA, WFP HQ 20