Amazon launches Venezuela relief air bridge

Amazon has launched a humanitarian air bridge to deliver critical relief supplies to earthquake-affected communities in Venezuela, deploying 7 weekly relief flights to Caracas following the devastating June 24 earthquakes, which have left more than 650,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The initiative marks the first time Amazon has established a dedicated humanitarian air bridge, leveraging its logistics network and Amazon Air Cargo operations to transport essential supplies for nonprofit organisations responding to the disaster.

The operation is being carried out in collaboration with Airlink, the U.S. State Department and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Under the partnership, the U.S. State Department is coordinating access with local authorities, Amazon is providing the aircraft and fuel at no cost to humanitarian organisations, Airlink is determining cargo priorities based on the needs of nonprofit partners, and WFP is overseeing the distribution of relief supplies across Venezuela.

According to Amazon, the air bridge has been designed to prevent aid bottlenecks by ensuring only requested and priority relief items are transported, reducing the risk of uncoordinated donations overwhelming affected communities and diverting resources from urgent humanitarian needs.

The company said it is drawing on the same aviation and logistics capabilities that support its global e-commerce operations to deliver emergency supplies quickly and efficiently to those most in need.

Bettina Stix, director of Amazon's Community Impact, said, “When more than 6 million people are affected, and entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, getting supplies quickly isn't just helpful it's critical. This air bridge will route supplies to registered NGOs who can put them to use immediately to serve the people most affected by this catastrophe."

Amazon said the initiative builds on its broader disaster relief efforts launched nearly a decade ago. Since its first relief flight in response to Hurricane Maria, the company has donated and delivered more than 30 million emergency supplies and technology to support relief operations across more than 200 disasters worldwide.

According to Amazon, its new collaboration with Airlink marks another milestone in expanding humanitarian logistics capabilities to support communities affected by natural disasters.

Paloma Adams-Allen, President and CEO of Airlink, said the partnership strengthens the humanitarian response by enabling faster and more efficient delivery of relief supplies to communities hardest hit by the earthquakes. She noted that Amazon's donated airlift capacity helps remove logistics bottlenecks, ensures each flight carries priority aid, and demonstrates the value of collaboration between humanitarian organisations, the aviation sector, and public and private partners in responding to large-scale disasters.

The humanitarian air bridge is part of Amazon's broader earthquake relief effort in Venezuela, which includes support for more than a dozen nonprofit organisations working on the ground, employee-led volunteering initiatives, and the donation and delivery of emergency supplies within days of the disaster. The company has also deployed rapid response technology systems that provide essential connectivity, including Wi-Fi, to hospitals and emergency shelters near the earthquake epicentre in La Guaira, enabling staff to communicate and coordinate relief operations.

Amazon said it will continue working with humanitarian partners to support evolving relief needs across the affected communities.