Air Asia brings relief to storm hit Philippines

Low-cost carrier Air Asia is working to help with relief in the worst hit areas of the Philippines following tropical storm Sendong.

President and chief executive of the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), Victor Jose I. Luciano, said to reporters that the budget airline was using its two Airbus A320 aircraft to send medical supplies, water, food and additional relief goods to both Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

Mr Luciano said that the supplies would be received by charity organisations and emergency shelters on the ground, which are already full with thousands of people that have been rendered homeless due to swelling rivers and severe flash floods caused by Sendong.

Chief executive of Air Asia Philippines, Marianne Hontiveros, said that the low-cost firm was coordinating the efforts with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to make sure that goods are seamlessly delivered to aid workers throughout the region.

Sendong has killed well over 1,000 people, according to official reports, after it brought intense winds and torrential rain to the coastal communities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. The country’s government civil defence agency said that about 330,000 residents were displaced by the storm and that around 69,000 are still in emergency shelters.