UPDATE: Air Transat to make humanitarian flight to Haiti tonight - Fully
loaded, wide-body Airbus A330 to take part in international airlift
operations

MONTREAL , Jan. 19 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Transat received the authorization to operate a humanitarian flight from Montreal to Port-au-Prince at 3:40 a.m. Wednesday January 20 , to assist the people of Haiti as they confront the tragedy of last week's earthquake. On board the Air Transat Airbus A330 bound for the Haitian capital will be 40 tons of cargo and approximately 100 volunteers from various organizations, including the Red Cross, the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), Feed the Children, Oxfam-Québec, and CARE Canada .

Among other things, the plane will be carrying water, 10,000 blankets donated by Air Transat, clothing, generators, tents and 10,000 surgical masks, profitably using all available cabin space and the cargo hold capacity. Part of the non-perishable items and clothing collected and being transported by Air Transat comes from the employee donation drive for earthquake victims organized by Transat.

Some of the supplies en route are destined for SOS Children's Villages, a Transat partner that manages two villages for orphaned children in Haiti . Approximately 60 SOS Children's Villages volunteers have been hard at work in the field bringing help to the disaster victims since the immediate aftermath of the catastrophe.

"In the face of the pressing needs of Haiti's population, and the scope of the work that must be done, we cannot help but feel called to action. It is important for us to contribute to the efforts being made in the region," said Allen B. Graham, President and Chief Executive Officer, Air Transat.

This operation is also made possible thanks to the co-operation of Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), CARA, Cargo Air Services (CAS), Eska, Pepsi, PUMA and Unisource, among others.

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; Pictures: Pictures of aircraft loading will be posted on Transat website as soon as possible (www.transat.com, see media center)