Air Partner evacuates injured clients following Lombok earthquake

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Not long ago key JetCard client John Roberts contacted Air Parter to arrange the safe evacuation of his daughter and her boyfriend from Indonesia to Singapore in the aftermath of the Lombok earthquake. The couple were visiting the island of Gili Trawangan, located off the northwest coast of Lombok, when the 6.9-magnitude earthquake and 66 aftershocks struck. The hotel in which they were staying collapsed as a result, forcing them to jump to safety from their first-floor balcony. The pair then had no choice but to camp on the beach until they were able to get back to Lombok.

Air Partner worked around the clock to arrange immediate transport from Lombok to Singapore, which was no mean

feat given the scarcity of available aircraft. Eventually the team was able to locate a suitable Learjet 60 for the journey, and secured the necessary private flight permits in just 24 hours instead of the usual two or three days.

However, a spanner was thrown in the works when authorities took the decision to close Lombok to non-scheduled traffic, meaning that the flight had to take off from Bali instead. The company used its local contacts on the ground to arrange a helicopter between the two islands at extremely short notice. From Bali, the couple were then flown directly to Singapore.

Fortunately the couple was able to retrieve their passports from the collapsed hotel, but Air Partner’s local representation had already spoken with the British High Commission just in case it proved necessary to collect emergency travel documents and hand deliver them to Lombok.

Head of JetCard Steven Warner says: “Being caught up in a natural disaster such as this is a terrifying ordeal and so getting our client’s daughter and her boyfriend off the ground as quickly as possible was our number one priority. The team worked 24/7 and I was delighted that we were able to get the two passengers to safety in such a short timeframe, in spite of the obstacles in our way. No avenue was left unpursued and my thanks go to my colleagues for their dedication and hard work in making this possible.”

John Roberts adds: “I am extremely grateful to the team for acting so quickly. I never imagined I would have to use my JetCard under such circumstances and I couldn’t be more relieved that this journey was made possible.”