Aviation Without Borders (AWB) is a leading UK aviation charity dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance through aviation services irrespective of politics, religion, race or nationality.

Our key activities are flying deserving kids at home, shipping humanitarian goods by air to charities operating overseas and, through our international partners, an association with the operation of humanitarian flights in Africa.    

At home we organise what we call our Smiling Wings Days where every summer throughout the UK we work closely with flying clubs to invite up to 500 deserving children to their local airport for the day.  The children are shown round the airport and the hangars, given a talk on aircraft and flying and taken on a short flight.  The experience broadens minds, expands horizons, improves confidence, raises self-esteem and changes young lives for the better.

AWB has a long experience of shipping air cargo and we assist and support other NGOs to ship humanitarian supplies overseas. Over the years we have supported a number of charitable organisations, big and small, including the Refugee Agency, where we shipped 5 tons of toys donated in the UK to Syrian refugee kids in camps in Jordan, 1.5 tons of medical supplies for International Health Partners to the International Medical Corp working to relieve suffering during the conflict in South Sudan and, over many years, shipping tons of water purifying kits for Lifewater to Uganda where they distribute the kits for free. In Uganda the greatest cause of death for young children under the age of 5 is drinking contaminated water and the wonderful work of Lifewater saves many little lives.

AWB is also a member of an international organisation of similar aviation charities in 10 countries, including the UK, called Aviation sans Frontières International (ASF International). Our French colleagues operate two Cessna 208 aircraft, one in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the other in the Central African Republic (CAR) and operations are flown with an Air Operator Certificate, just like an airline. ASF France is the only charity to do so in the world and they provide fantastic support flying humanitarian supplies and personnel for other NGOs working in the field.