Responding to crisis

United responds to natural and manmade disasters by using our aircraft and global network to deliver much-needed relief supplies and volunteers to impacted areas.

Our contributions support:

Resiliency efforts that ensure communities are prepared in advance of disaster.

Movement of first responders and critical relief supplies to areas of need.

Long-term recovery efforts to get communities back on their feet after disaster strikes.

As an airline, we can respond to disaster and crisis needs in unique ways by delivering much-needed relief supplies and volunteers to impacted areas.

In 2023, we supported relief efforts in over 30 disasters across the world, including continued support to Ukraine 2 years into the conflict. Over 800K lbs. of cargo supplied to over 30 disasters across the world in over 25 countries through our partnership with Airlink, American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen.

Through our partnership with Airlink in 2023, we were able to impact over 2M people in the following ways:

1,658,180 people provided with healthcare supplies and services

479,302 people provided with clean water and hygiene supplies

44,964 people provided with shelter and shelter materials

519,595 people provided with food aid

233,809 people provided with other assistance, including non-food items like solar lights, jerry cans and kitchen kits, as well as telecommunications services and solar-powered electricity

Our disaster relief work

Preparedness:

  1. Relaunched blood drives with American Red Cross at different locations across the USA
  2. Panama disaster preparedness training
  3. Costa Rica water infrastructure strengthening
  4. Health and water systems strengthening in Nigeria, Madagascar, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone

Response:

  1. Earthquakes: Morocco/Turkey/Syria
  2. Hurricanes/Cyclones/Typhoons: Mexico (Otis), Malawi (Freddy), Guam (Mawar)
  3. Wildfires: Maui, Chile

Recovery efforts:

  1. Ukraine
  2. Hurricane recovery work (Ian, Ida, Idalia)

Turkey/Syria Earthquake relief

From February to March 2023, United’s Miles on a Mission program launched a campaign to help in the Turkey/Syria earthquake relief efforts and provide support to our nonprofit partners that use air travel to transport and help in the region. These campaigns raised nearly over 1 million miles and over $100K for organizations that provided travel support, meals, health and humanitarian services to individuals in the region.

In addition to raising miles, our United Cargo team coordinated and provided aircraft space for 3 shipments totaling 4.6 metric tons. United also supported flights for 30 first responders, ranging from search and rescue personnel to medical and psychosocial support teams, to Turkey and Syria.

Typhoon Mawar support

When Super Typhoon Mawar made landfall in Guam in late May of 2023, flooding the Pacific Island and taking out integral infrastructure and power in its wake, our United teams jumped into action. We pulled together vital resources, such as community aid partners, medical and service personnel to administer support and resources. As the only U.S. air carrier to fly to Guam and as Guam’s hometown airline of 55 years, our main goal following a disaster like this is to restore impacted communities using our best assets: our aircraft.

In the days and weeks following the super typhoon, we operated multiple humanitarian flights carrying more than 40,000 pounds of cargo, including water, hygiene, comfort and cleanup kits, IT equipment to help restore telecommunications and blood products for local hospitals and clinics in collaboration with the American Red Cross and Airlink. Arriving with this cargo were more than 150 hardworking volunteers from several community partners, ready to work and render aid to impacted Guam residents and visitors.

Our United team worked around the clock, using our immediate response programs to quickly deploy supplies and aid to ensure the safety of employees on the island. We are proud of their work and our culture of taking care of each other.

As recovery efforts continue in Guam, so does our commitment of support to the communities where we live, work and fly. It is a part of our values as a company with a network that reaches across the globe. When catastrophe strikes, we stand shoulder to shoulder ready to jump in and help restore, rebuild and renew.

Maui Wildfire relief

We helped provide transportation for 2,894 people to the island to support nonprofits engaged in relief efforts, including World Central Kitchen, American Red Cross and Airlink. We also transported more than 110,000 lbs. of relief supplies on humanitarian flights in support of Maui disaster relief efforts, which included clean-up kits for American Red Cross, including blankets, work gloves, trash bags, cleaning materials and packages of supplies for use in shelters. As well as 13 pallets of cooking and kitchen kits for World Central Kitchen, to help serve upwards of 10K meals a day.

Not to mention, we had 30+ employees serving meals through volunteer events with World Central Kitchen and Maui Food Bank. Through our customers and a matching campaign with Miles on a Mission, we were able to raise a record breaking 55M miles and ~ $500K to support Maui Wildfires.

Continued support in Ukraine

With our continued support for Ukraine into 2023, we helped Airlink deliver 234 metric tons of relief shipments and supported flights for 44 responders. The cargo shipments have included medical supplies (including PPE, wound care, IV supplies, durable medical equipment) and medications (prenatal vitamins, non-controlled pain medications, antibiotics and medications for chronic conditions), clean water/hygiene supplies (including water filters, basic care items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and feminine hygiene products), generators, winter clothing and shelf-stable, highly nutritious food.

Food Bank partnerships

In 2023, United supported food banks in all of our seven Hub markets, in addition to Hawaii and Phoenix, with travel and financial investments. These contributions exceeded $1,000,000 to provide nutritious food and heathy resources for community members with dignity, equity and convenience. We also had +1,330 employees volunteer +4,790 hours at various food banks across the country.

In addition, we sponsored food packing events with both RISE Against Hunger and 9/11 Day.org, which built more than 300,000 meals with Rise Against Hunger, and we contributed to the 6.7 million meals packed by all contributing organizations on 9/11 day.