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DHL team steps into the breach in Indonesia

[ October 5, 2018   //   Chris ]

Deutsche Post DHL Group has sent a disaster response team to Indonesia following the Palu earthquake and tsunami. The volunteers group will provide logistics support for managing incoming relief goods at Balikpapan International and Palu airports

DPDHL Group’s DRT provides logistics support in close collaboration with local staff and humanitarian organizations at local airports, helping to manage incoming aid for further distribution to those in need.

Two DRT teams are being set up to support the request, one at Balikpapan where its international airport will function as the staging area for incoming international assistance into Palu, and the other at a distribution centre close to the airport in Palu to handle and store relief goods. More DHL volunteers are on standby and ready for deployment once the government has coordinated the flow of international aid into Indonesia.

Carl Schelfhaut, GoHelp Manager, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Post DHL Group leads both teams. He explained: “Due to a collapse of the tower at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport, only very small propeller aircrafts and military airplanes can land. That is why Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport in Balikpapan is being set up as the main humanitarian relief hub where sourcing and sorting of incoming relief goods will take place. With the airport in Palu partially ready to receive goods, the Indonesia National Armed Forces, along with selected foreign forces from countries like Australia, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore are ferrying C-130 and C-17 type aircraft from Balikpapan to Palu. These aircraft will serve the dual purpose of transporting aid to Palu and then returning with evacuees. The DRT will be on-site in both locations to assist with ground handling.”

 

Tags: DHL