United Airlines on Monday announced a fundraising effort to fly aid workers and supplies to the areas of Ukraine that are most in need.
Here’s what you need to know: United's MileagePlus members can donate cash or miles to the airline's relief partners—Airlink, Americares, American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen—by visiting united.com/Ukrainesupport. The company will match the first 5 million donated miles—the equivalent of hundreds of connecting flights to places like Poland, Hungary and Romania—and $100,000, as well as award bonus miles to anyone who gives $50 or more.
"The human tragedy we are witnessing in Ukraine is horrifying and has shocked us all, so we're doing our part to quickly help get aid to the people who desperately need relief," said United President Brett Hart in a press announcement. "Our partners have been on the ground for more than a week and it's clear they need more resources to fulfill their mission of flying workers and supplies to and from the frontlines of this crisis. We're proud to do our part and will continue to look for ways to lend support where it's needed."
United's relief partners are already on the ground in the countries supporting Ukraine and are assisting in several ways, including:
- Airlink: Using the power of aviation to deliver critical aid—medical, WASH, shelter and emergency response and medical teams for 20-plus humanitarian organizations to help refugees.
- Americares: Mobilizing large-scale shipments of medicine and relief supplies and prepared to deploy an emergency medical team to provide essential health services for refugees fleeing Ukraine.
- World Central Kitchen: Working with local restaurants, caterers, and food trucks in the region to provide hot, nourishing meals at border crossings, shelters, and other refugee communities across Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia.
- American Red Cross: Supporting the global Red Cross network providing humanitarian relief to those affected by the Ukraine crisis.
In addition to fundraising efforts, United has paused Russian airspace transit, suspended interline agreements with Russian carriers and until further notice, credit card payments from Russia will no longer be accepted on the United app or united.com.
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