Emergency aid and school supplies are to be flown in by budget carrier Norwegian to help Syrian children living in refugee camps.
The airline has started a series of initiatives allowing UK passengers to make donations as part of an initiative with children’s charity Unicef.
Norwegian chief executive, Bjorn Kjos, and employees will join the emergency aid flight next month.
The aircraft will take off for Amman in Jordan, a couple of hours’ drive from one of the largest refugee camps on the Syrian border.
The aim is to help some of the two million children affected by the civil war in Syria.
The carrier hopes that very seat, cabin compartment and cargo space will be filled with school supplies, medicines and other life-saving supplies.
A “Help us fill a plane!” website has been launched allowing UK passengers to make a donation at unicef.no/fly
UK passengers flying from Norwegian’s four UK airports (London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh) to destinations including Greece, Sicily, Cyprus and Hungary can also carry aid in a separate bag of up to 25kg for free.
Passengers are also able to make a donation when booking their flights online, allowing them to donate £3, £5, £10 or £15. The initiative has already raised more than £75,000.
Kjos said: “We are eager to help the refugee children of Syria and our partnership with Unicef is allowing us to provide aircraft and crew to carry emergency aid and school supplies.
“This is an important cause and we encourage all of our passengers and customers to make a donation to help prevent a lost generation of Syrian children.”
Unicef Norway secretary general, Bernt Apeland, said: “The refugee children of Syria have lost everything. Therefore, it is great that we, together with our long-term partner Norwegian can use the public’s generosity to fill a plane with aid that goes directly to children in need.
“Together we can make sure these children get the future they deserve and that we prevent a lost generation.”