Tensions on the Korean peninsula, war in Syria, wildfires in California, Papua New Guinea earthquake, Japan floods, Guatemala: Volcanic Eruption, Indonesia tsunami & earthquake – this is just a snapshot of some of the high risk natural disasters and political unrest we have seen through 2018. While some areas are seeing tensions subside, there are ever growing risks globally.
Let's take Africa for instance, while we have seen political improvements in some countries – there have been uncertain situations around elections in Kenya and Gabon. We face a complex ever-changing political environment, social instability and situations which global businesses need to be aware of.
At Air Partner, we offer our customers expert advice in planning, undertaking and managing air support and air evacuations globally. With nearly 20 years of experience, we are able to provide our clients with experience, quickly respond to help clients operating in risk areas. We find that time and time again, many companies leave this very important risk management too late to deal with but we ensure that our clients have a detailed strategy regarding emergency planning and are always planning for the unexpected. In recent years, Air Partner has safely evacuated thousands of people from Iraq, Iran, West Africa, Afghanistan, Indonesia, East Timor, Suriname and Lebanon.
We work closely with global security risk management consultants, Drum Cussac, and other intelligence sources, to ensure that we are aware of any risk areas globally. We have teamed up with Drum Cussac to produce a guide that highlights risk areas that you need to be aware of in 2019 and how Air Partner can ensure the safety of your organisation. This is something which we hope will be useful for you if you are looking after employees within these high risk areas and might need to consider evacuation for.
Drum Cussac's intelligence and analysis service team have classified countries into the least to most risky, using 20 different risk markers grouped under five categories: security, political, medical, environmental and infrastructural, resulting in risk maps globally to highlight the riskiest areas for 2019.
As detailed on the map, North Africa and the Middle East have, perhaps unsurprisingly, been highlighted as the riskiest areas of the world for the coming year, with many of these countries listed as the most dangerous in the world. Our Emergency Planning team have proven experience in planning and arranging evacuations in risk areas globally. We can create bespoke plans to showcase how your employees could quickly evacuate the country with our assistance.
Africa
As mentioned above, unsurprisingly, the forecasted level of risk remains high throughout North and Central Africa, with key ongoing challenges including infrastructural, environmental and medical risks. Several countries have been labelled as "extreme" risk with many more as "high" and "moderate" risk.
At Air Partner, we understand the key threats of operating in these areas and have safely evacuated thousands of people from hazardous situations across Africa over the past 17 years that we have been operating. For example, we have carried out evacuations in Libya, Egypt, South Sudan and Algeria to name a few countries. Plus worked with companies in creating plans, as planning ahead gives great peace of mind to management and workforce alike.
The agile nature of our team means that we are one of the few companies capable of arranging specific air evacuation planning for any client at short notice, whatever the circumstances.
Asia
Key risks in this area for 2019 include terrorism in Southeast Asia – specifically the treat from Islamist militant groups and the risk of elections to have major repercussions across a number of countries across Asia.
We have planned for many different evacuations across Asia and an example of this is the work we did for the 2018 winter Olympics in South Korea. Air evacuation planning was particularly important due to the political tensions in the area and we assisted 11 clients with their evacuation plans. This included identifying the infrastructure, selecting potential departure points for evacuation, recommending safe destinations in the region and working with clients 24/7 to monitor the threat levels. Whilst no evacuations were necessary, it's important to plan ahead for the unexpected.
We have the expertise to create bespoke country evacuation plans and have previously created a number of them across Asia as well as other areas of the world. None of our plans are "off the shelf", we tailor the plans in line with the company's operating procedures and can be adapted to suit the industry involved. We understand that the needs of an oil and gas company, for example, will be very different to a technology company.
South America
Within South America, key risks include political instabilities and economic concerns. Venezuela in particular is highlighted as a "high" risk area, with many other countries being labelled as "moderate" risk.
One of the benefits of working with Air Partner is our global coverage, we have carried out and planned for evacuations across the world, so we understand the intricacies involved to ensure that good cover is in place.
Need cover for 2019? Speak to Air Partner Emergency Planning Division
If you have employees in these risk areas, get in contact with us today. Our expert team can assist in creating bespoke plans and cover in place to deploy air support and evacuations and you'll benefit from:
- Skilled team offering a personalised service, but with the wider backing of a global company
- Access to 24/7 dedicated emergency helpline
- Bespoke country plans tailored to your organisation
- Our assistance and involvement in your test evacuations
- Access to credit so there is no delay to your evacuation
- Experience and reassurance - Air Partner PLC has over 58 years of experience in the global charter market
