Humanitarian relief by air : why a new topic ?

The Aeromorning site has kindly asked me to host a new topic highlighting the humanitarian actions realised within the framework of the Toulouse Saint-Louis airborne rally which has taken place every year since 1983.

The primary purpose of this rally is to commemorate the history of the aeronautical pioneers by flying in the footsteps of Aeropostal each year between Toulouse and Saint-Louis in Senegal. The participants with their modern aircraft follow the same routes and stop at the same ports of call of the era of Rozès, Mermoz, Reine, Guillaumet, Saint-Exupéry…Thus this rally covers more than 8000 kms of diverse and stunning scenery across five countries and two continents. Legendary villages welcome the aviators with enthousiasm and share in their way the recollections of ‘La Ligne’ : Barcelona, Alicante, Rabat, Casablanca, Tarfaya (Cap-Juby), Dakhla (Villa Cisneros), Nouadhibou (Port-Etienne) and Saint-Louis to mention a few.

But it would be simplisic to describe this airborne rally solely as a means for a group with a passion for the history of aviation to burn fuel a century later following the same tracks as the pioneers ! This rally posesses other virtues. It connects people ! Every year many humanitairian actions are undertaken or see the light of day through this adventure. Actions are frequently carried out discretely because the action and its result takes precedence over the personality of the actionaire. However, these actions deserve to be highlighted : improvement in the taking charge of patients at the Saint-Louis hospital, training of medical staff, fitting out of premises, supplying school equipment, delivery of books for the children…

We propose, via this topic, to present the various humanitairian actions carried out in the framework of the Toulouse Saint-Louis of Senegal airborne rally.