When an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to mobilise supplies, Astral Aviation was called on to deliver. The mission underlined both the critical role of air cargo in crisis response and the obstacles operators face in Africa.
“Speed was the biggest challenge,” recalled Anthony Mwangi, Charter Manager at Astral Aviation. “The initial request was to Tshicapa (Kasai Province), but this airport was not viable for our freighter. We explored Kananga airport as an alternate, but again, this was not a solution for the team on the ground, as the road network is not good. We finally settled for Kinshasa (FIH). All this was done within very few hours as the mission was time critical.”
Executing a humanitarian flight into DRC is never straightforward, but the urgency of Ebola made this one particularly demanding. “Being a Friday afternoon, speed was of essence, as we had other logistics to be carried out hurriedly i.e processing the goods through customs in Nairobi, getting the necessary over-flights and landing permits etc. Getting permits to DRC is usually painfully slow, but the combined efforts of our operations & WHO personnel ensured this was achieved in a record time.”
Speed saved lives, but it also highlighted structural weaknesses. Permits that normally take days were secured in hours only through intense cooperation. For Mwangi, the lesson is clear: preparedness is essential.
Special handling requirements
Humanitarian flights are not only about moving goods quickly. The cargo itself — PPE, medical supplies, vaccines — brings its own complexity. “Some may require stricter handling than most relief items and may come pre-packed under sterile conditions and need specialised ground handling to ensure safe palletisation, temperature control if required etc. In some cases, safety, not only to the ground staff, but also to the crew is important when handling these types of shipments.”
Those requirements place pressure on operators working in austere environments. Astral has built up procedures over years of missions across Africa, but the risks remain high.
Astral’s long-standing partnership with WHO was instrumental in making the flight possible. “Preparedness under very short notice is key. At Astral Aviation we have a long standing relationship and keep close communication with WHO. We are able to identify and close the gaps that may hinder quick activation of flight, when necessary.”
For Mwangi, one lesson stands out: “Preposition and pre-clearance at customs saves critical time and helps to quickly activate a flight when a need arises. Also, their local teams may need to engage their governments for exemptions of long bureaucratic processes for acquiring permits.”
Yet coordination across the wider humanitarian system still leaves much to be desired. “Information sharing remains the biggest gap. There’s a need for the other humanitarian organisations responding to the same emergency being able to corroborate more closely, as sometimes there’s a duplication or under-utilisation of flights that may be moving towards the same location.”
It is a problem that wastes scarce resources. With emergencies intensifying due to climate change and conflict, duplication is a luxury the sector cannot afford.
Capacity and operational model
Astral transports between 1,000 and 3,000 tonnes of humanitarian cargo annually, depending on the scale of crises. “These crises vary as some years may experience multiple large-scale emergencies such as floods, droughts, or epidemics, while others are relatively stable. Our planning focuses on being flexible and we have various capacity freighters i.e. B737-400F, B767-200F, B767-300F among others within our partners framework. Further, we ensure not to overcommit the fleet, but we keep a schedule open for charters. Our crew are also trained to adapt to quick deployment when a need comes up.”
Flexibility extends to balancing commercial and humanitarian work. “We do not necessarily ring-fence certain aircrafts, but rather keep an open and flexible schedule. For example, we may upgrade or downgrade our scheduled service on a certain aircraft, to free up availability to a specific time critical mission. This ensures that both our scheduled and charter clientele are served accordingly.”
Technology is playing a growing role in Astral’s operations. “We have digital cargo platforms, flight planning tools etc. that help us cut response times by simplifying documentation and coordination. Humanitarian flights often go into harsh environments where flexibility and ruggedness matter more than having the newest aircraft.”
The airline is also investing in fleet renewal. “We are however on an ongoing fleet modernisation programme, case in point our newly acquired B767-300F, which offers longer range with higher payloads and at a cheaper pricing.”
On sustainability, progress is slower. “Alternative fuels are promising, but their availability in Africa is still limited. Through our sister company – Astral Aerial, we are already offering last mile delivery using drones, to remote, hard to reach destinations.”
A pan-African cargo system
For Mwangi, one of the biggest opportunities lies in creating a shared African cargo community system. “That’s one of the biggest missing links and we’d absolutely support it. This will greatly reduce duplication and allow for capacity optimisation and overall reduce response times.”
Such a system would allow operators and aid agencies to better match capacity to demand — a critical step in reducing delays and waste.
Astral’s ambitions extend beyond individual missions. “Our role remains to be a trusted partner with the humanitarian organisation and logistics agencies. We envision to help provide quick response scale up, so that when the next crisis hits, relief doesn’t necessarily have to wait for lift from outside the continent.”
For a carrier that has built its identity on serving Africa, the goal is clear: to make sure the continent has its own resilience in the face of disaster.
The Ebola mission to DRC showed what is possible when speed, cooperation and experience align. But it also exposed the gaps that still hinder humanitarian air cargo: slow permits, poor information sharing, and limited infrastructure. Astral Aviation has no illusions about these challenges. Its strategy is to stay flexible, invest in practical innovation, and push for greater collaboration across the sector.
The post Astral Aviation on Africa’s humanitarian airlift appeared first on Air Cargo Week.
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Author: Anastasiya Simsek
