France 2 report - Air operations of Aviation Sans Frontières - Ludovic Biteau

Our Director of Programs Xavier Vincke was on mission in Bunia, with the pilot Ludovic Biteau, in September 2021.

Aviation Sans Frontières, a unique combination of a carrier approved by the United Nations and holding a European AOC (Air Carrier Certificate), thus meets the same standards as any certified airline.

The fleet of Aviation Sans Frontières is made up of 2 Cessna Grand Caravan, based in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Bangui in the Central African Republic. Each of these planes can carry 12 passengers or 1 ton of emergency supplies. Missions are frequently carried out in difficult conditions: hostile environment, very bad weather, poorly equipped bush airstrips. For this reason, each mission is carried out with two pilots.

Aviation Sans Frontières allows dozens of humanitarian organizations to help people in distress. Among them the World Food Programme, Handicap International, Action Against Hunger, ALIMA, the Red Cross...

The pilots of Aviation Sans Frontières are volunteers, ready to brave the dangers of flying in an African country at war, to help victims of conflict. Working in Europe, they take several months off a year to live out their humanitarian commitment.