Air Transat resumes regular flights to Port-au-Prince

"We thank our passengers, partners and employees for responding so generously in support of Haiti," says President and CEO Allen B. Graham

MONTREAL, March 9 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Transat will resume its weekly service between Montreal and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, tomorrow, March 10, following a two-month suspension of flights in the wake of the earthquake that devastated the country. "The January 12 earthquake sparked the largest humanitarian operation ever mounted by our organization. Thanks to the generosity of our employees, our customers and our partners who made it possible" said Air Transat President and Chief Executive Officer Allen B. Graham. "We are grateful to everyone who contributed directly or indirectly."

In response to the scale of the needs, Air Transat deployed wide-body aircraft to participate in the international airlift operation that was quickly mounted. The carrier sent four humanitarian flights to Haiti between January 20 and February 16, with support from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.

Thanks to the volunteer work of teams from Air Transat and Handlex, these flights ferried close to 400 volunteer workers from various humanitarian organizations to Haiti and brought more than 550 people, including many orphans, back to Canada. The Airbus A330 and A310 planes also carried some 125 tonnes of relief materials, food and water, mainly on behalf of humanitarian organizations engaged in the immediate relief effort. These included SOS Children's Villages, a Transat partner that operates two villages for orphans in Haiti and is actively engaged in helping the earthquake victims.

Transat and Air Transat also gave approximately $215,000 to the Red Cross and to SOS Children's Villages for their Haiti relief efforts. Of this amount, $50,000 was donated by Transat employees in Canada, France and the Netherlands, as well as by Transat's 450 affiliated travel agencies across Canada, $90,000 was raised from among Air Transat passengers, and $75,000 was donated by Transat.

About Air Transat

Air Transat is Canada's leading holiday travel airline. It carries some 3 million passengers annually to nearly 60 destinations in 25 countries. Air Transat has a fleet of 18 Airbus A330s and A310s. The company employs approximately 2,000 people. Air Transat is a subsidiary of Transat A.T. Inc., an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries.

For further information: Jacques Bouchard, Media Relations Manager, [phone], ext. 4662, [email protected]; Source: Air Transat, www.airtransat.com