A C-17 heavy cargo aircraft arrived at Incirlik airport in Türkiye carrying 500 tents for hundreds of people displaced by the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye in February, according to a press release issued by NATO.

Several NATO Allies and partners have offered to support NATO-coordinated flights to carry aid from Pakistan to Türkiye. Tuesday’s flight was chartered by Sweden as part of the NATO-supported Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC). Since 7 February 2023, the SAC, which provides airlift flight hours for 12 NATO Allies and partners, has flown eight missions to transport 279 tonnes of urgent supplies to Türkiye, including on behalf of Finland, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United States.

At the same time, NATO is shipping some 1,000 containers to Türkiye to set up temporary housing for several thousand people. A first merchant vessel carrying hundreds of containers left the Italian port of Taranto for Türkiye on Sunday (19 February 2023) and is due to arrive this week. Thousands of emergency response personnel from Allied countries have been deployed to Türkiye to support the initial relief efforts.