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ECHO ends special relief flight service

The European Commission (EC) will be ending its special relief flights in West Africa on 31 December, the European Union (EU) announced this week. The ECHO-FLIGHT service, begun in June 1998, has provided logistic support to humanitarian programmes financed by the EC, EU member states, the United Nations and other donors, the EC said. Based in Bamako, ECHO-FLIGHT flew mainly to and from northern Mali, northern Niger and Guinea-Bissau. Its Beechcraft King Air 200 plane has ferried nearly 2,000 passengers and 36.42 mt of medical, logistical and other emergency supplies since its inception.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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