Air Transat to make a humanitarian flight to Haiti tomorrow from Toronto -
Airbus A330 wide-body jet's cargo to include water purification systems for
SOS Children's Villages, which is now aiding thousands of families

MONTREAL , Feb. 2 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Transat will operate a humanitarian flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Port-au-Prince tomorrow, Wednesday February 3 . The Airbus A330 wide-body jet will take off at 10:45 a.m. On board will be some 50 volunteers from a variety of organizations including Angels of Flight Canada , the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), Médecins du Monde and Oxfam Canada , as well as approximately 32 tonnes of relief supplies, including water purification systems for SOS Children's Villages.

A total of 125 people, including a group of Haitian orphans, are expected to board the return flight, scheduled to land in Ottawa at 10:30 p.m. the same day. Around fifty specialists and Air Transat employee volunteers will be on the plane to accompany the children and see to their well-being while in transit and upon arrival.

"It's a privilege to be authorized by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada to conduct this operation," said Air Transat President and Chief Executive Officer Allen B. Graham. "This third Air Transat humanitarian flight since January 12 , in co-operation with several humanitarian organizations, would not have been possible without the help of our suppliers, our employees - all of them volunteers - and without the support of our partners, humanitarian organizations and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority."

The cargo will include water purification systems for SOS Children's Villages ( Canada ) in Port-au-Prince . Even though its own facilities had sustained some damage, the organization, which takes care of orphans in 132 countries, quickly marshalled the resources necessary to bring medical aid and food supplies to nearly 7,000 families. "As we become able to deploy more people and supplies, we expect to soon expand our support to more than 30,000 families," said Boyd McBride, National Director of SOS Children's Villages ( Canada ).

Air Transat operated similar flights on January 20 and 27, also using an Airbus A330 with fully loaded cargo hold and cabin.

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, Manager, Media Relations, Transat A.T. Inc., [phone], ext. 4662, [email protected]