All of Air Partner’s 20 offices were involved in co-ordinating flights as the company’s Emergency Planning and 24 hour Operations teams, together with on-call broker specialists, pooled their knowledge and resources to secure suitable aircraft for pre-planned evacuations and ad hoc charters. Once aircraft had been sourced, often within tight time constraints, they then proceeded to negotiate flight slots, fuel, aircraft handling and visa permissions.

From midday Sunday to the close of business on Monday the worldwide aviation provider will have flown 800 people out of Egypt on 14 flights to a range of safe havens, including Dubai, the US and Europe. Additional flights are contracted to take place tomorrow and on Wednesday, while several clients have ‘open options’.

Clients have included major oil companies, financial institutions, supermarket chains and telecommunications conglomerates. Aircraft used to move people to safety, primarily out of Cairo, have ranged from private jets to commercial airliners such as Boeing 737s and a 220-seat Airbus A310.

Graham Davey, Air Partner’s Government and Defence Business Manager, said: “It is gratifying to see the benefits of forward planning, robust procedures and a professional and dedicated team. This morning, an influential energy industry client emailed Air Partner to thank everyone involved in his company’s successful evacuation of non-essential employees out of Egypt. Air Partner continues to be a leader in assisting companies and individuals during times of crisis.”

And, confirming the need for organisations to have pre-arranged evacuation contingencies in place, he added: “Looking forward, several clients have asked to discuss their global operations with a view to tightening procedures and closing gaps.”