United Nations Humanitarian Air Service

"UNHAS" redirects here. For the Indonesian University known as Unhas, see Hasanuddin University. For the singular, see unha (disambiguation).
United Nations Humanitarian Air Service
A map showing active UNHAS Operations of 2021
IATA ICAO Callsign
- UNO UNITED NATIONS
Founded2003 (2003)[1]
Fleet size75
Destinations310
Holding company#Parent company(World Food Programme)
United Nations
Websitewww.wfp.org/unhas Edit this at Wikidata

The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), created in 2003 at the request of the United Nations High Level Committee on Management, managed by the World Food Programme (WFP), provides common air services, including light cargo transport for the wider humanitarian community to and from areas of crisis and intervention. In most countries requiring humanitarian assistance, surface travel is impeded by challenging security situations, long distances and poor road conditions. Furthermore, most of the destinations the humanitarian community needs to reach are not served by adequate commercial air operators. When no other means of reaching isolated communities are available, aid workers can rely on UNHAS to provide access.[2]

To fulfill its mission, UNHAS uses a fleet of 75 aircraft and helicopters chartered from commercial air operators that are compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) and the United Nations Aviation Standards for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Air Transport Operations (UNAVSTADS).[3]

Chartered aircraft are fully dedicated to UNHAS operations. Therefore, contracted air carriers are assured of revenue in terms of guaranteed aircraft utilization for the duration of the contract. This, along with UNHAS' efficient management of schedules, ensures that partner air carriers avoid taking undue risks to achieve financial gains. For example, in the event of a flight cancellation due to poor weather conditions, the air carrier would not be financially penalized.

A passenger jet aircraft with a large "UN" painted on it
Boeing 737-500 operated by UTair, 2012
  1. ^ "Point sur le Service aérien d'aide humanitaire des Nations Unies". World Food Programme. June 20–24, 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  2. ^ "Chapter 6: Flying Humanitarians: The UN Humanitarian Air Service - UN Air Power: Wings for Peace". unairpower.net. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  3. ^ "United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) Annual Review 2021". UNHAS Annual Review. 13 May 2022.