A Lufthansa Cargo Boeing 777 freighter took off fully loaded with relief supplies, mainly winter clothing, blankets, food and hygiene items, which are most urgently needed on the ground. The donations in kind came from Turkish communities in Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, from companies in the region and from Lufthansa Cargo employees.

"We are deeply affected by the extent of the destruction in the Turkish-Syrian border region and want to help. The willingness of our employees from the Lufthansa Cargo environment and the Help Alliance to help is enormous, and plans were made immediately to organize a relief flight as quickly as possible,"

said Dorothea von Boxberg, Chairwoman of the Executive Board and CEO of Lufthansa Cargo AG.

"The terrible earthquake and the immeasurable suffering of the people in Turkey and Syria make us all very concerned. As an emergency logistics provider, we have already gained a lot of experience in dealing with such events during past crises and disasters. Thus, we were able to operationally prepare this cargo flight with urgently needed relief goods within 72 hours with our professional teams. We were all overwhelmed by the commitment and willingness to help shown by our colleagues and the Turkish communities,"

said Alexander Kohnen, Managing Director of time:matters GmbH.