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2024 ATW Humanitarian Force for Good Award Recipient: United Airlines
It has never been more important to raise awareness of the essential good that the world’s airlines do for people and the planet far beyond the critical roles of connecting people, trade and economies.
United Airlines’ many long-standing humanitarian and charitable endeavors include being the founding airline sponsor of the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, the world’s only fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital located onboard an aircraft. United has also been a pioneering and innovative leader in addressing aviation sustainability.
United is a founding sponsor of Airlink, a global humanitarian organization that delivers critical aid to communities during natural and man-made disasters worldwide by providing free airlift and logistical solutions to nonprofit partners.
Since its inception in 2010, Airlink’s airline part- ners have flown some 12,000 relief workers and transported almost 13 million pounds of humanitarian cargo, helping over 60 million people in dire need because of crises ranging from tornadoes and wildfires in the US to hurricanes in Latin America and the Caribbean, and typhoons and earthquakes in Asia to epidemic outbreaks in Africa. Airlink has also assisted with humanitarian crises in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the last 10 years, United has enabled the deployment of some 4,000 relief workers from within Airlink’s NGO partners. United has donated air freight capacity to mobilize more than 60 shipments of humanitarian supplies to Ukraine since March 2022. United has also provided resources to deploy 273 relief workers and volunteers, including doctors, nurses, and other surgery-support personnel. Airlink has therefore been able to support 47 NGOs and their programs in Ukraine, Poland and Romania.
In total, United’s contribution to Airlink has resulted in savings of $6.6 million for Airlink’s nonprofit partners. Consequently, organizations have been able to use their limited funds to procure more aid and help more people. As a result of those interventions, more than 47 million people have been helped in 53 countries.
United’s Global Community Engagement team also maintains more than 100 charitable partnerships supporting communities around the world, including the American Red Cross, Global Glimpse, Make-A-Wish America, Rise Against Hunger, and World Central Kitchen.
Through its Miles for a Mission program, United provides opportunities for customers who are MileagePlus members to support causes they care about, raising more than 500 million miles since 2019.
On the cargo side, Airlink has been working with United Cargo to identify space available to support free transportation of lifesaving and life-sustaining supplies. United Cargo has supported more than 100 shipments for 15 unique responses totaling 650 metric tons of donated capacity. Some notable programs include:
- 4,064,594 individuals gaining access to clean water
- 29,447,998 individuals gaining healthcare services
- 463,820 individuals provided with shelter
- 10,720,668 individuals provided with food aid
United also provides a financial contribution to sustain general operations. In 2023 alone, United donated more than $750,000 to Airlink, and the company’s lifetime contribution exceeds $5 million.
The inaugural recipient of the ATW Humanitarian Force for Good Award is United Airlines.