Emirates Deepens CSR Initiatives in Africa, Donates Aircrafted Bags

Emirates has launched its Aircrafted KIDS initiative in Middle East and North Africa, donating 800 bags to two non-profit organisations in Egypt.

The initiative was born from the understanding that while education is one of the greatest engines for societal development and economic empowerment, access to resources is a barrier for children and young people.

To help address this, Emirates launched an initiative to donate essential supplies and limited-edition, handcrafted backpacks from its ‘Aircrafted by Emirates’ collection to organisations across Africa and West Asia, and now in the MENA region.

Educate Me and Resala serve local communities by creating a nurturing and inspirational space, for financially disadvantaged youths to continue their education.

With a longstanding legacy of supporting youth, and a particular focus on education, Emirates aims to support both organisations’ students with their schooling by providing practical, stylish backpacks and stationery supplies. 

The initiative reinforces the airline’s commitment to ‘connecting communities’ by building enduring relationships and making meaningful differences in the destinations it serves.

To ensure the organisations received exactly what they needed for each and every student, Resala and Educate Me handpicked the specific bags they required from the ‘Aircrafted by Emirates’ collection, accounting for children of all ages.

The backpacks were then handmade by the Emirates Engineering team in-house, with materials upcycled from the airline’s iconic Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft.

In addition to the bags, Emirates provided school supplies such as pens, pencils, geometry sets, notebooks and more. The airline also purchased books from local authors, which blend culturally rich stories with interactive learning opportunities.

The books can be swapped and discussed amongst the students, further developing their understanding of the material. The Emirates team based in Egypt visited both Educate Me and Resala to deliver the 800 bags and meet Egypt’s leaders of tomorrow.

Through the Emirates Airline Foundation, Emirates has a long history of supporting children’s welfare programmes, and ‘Aircrafted KIDS’ by Emirates is an extension of this work.

In total, more than 50,000 kg of materials from 205 aircraft slated to undergo the airline’s interior cabin retrofit programme are expected to be recovered and repurposed.

In addition to the donations made in Egypt, Emirates provided organisations in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia with bags, bringing the total donation to 1,239 in Africa alone, with a further 744 donated in Dhaka, Pakistan and India.