Emirates’ School Supplies Initiative

Emirates Gives Back to African Communities

Emirates is dedicated to supporting children’s education and fostering community connections. To this end, the airline has collaborated with six African entities to deliver over 1,300 handcrafted school bags and essential stationery supplies to young students. Each school bag represents a unique piece of history: a limited-edition item from Emirates’ Aircrafted range, crafted from fabrics and components of the airline’s iconic aircraft. This distribution across Africa marks the beginning of a broader initiative by Emirates to repurpose and upcycle materials to benefit children worldwide.

Aircrafted Kids by Emirates goes to Africa

In Zimbabwe, Emirates teamed up with St Marcellin's Children’s Village Trust and Rose of Sharon, two non-profit organizations dedicated to vulnerable children, to create a nurturing and inspiring educational environment. In Zambia, Emirates collaborated with the Kucetekela Foundation to assist academically talented but financially challenged children, as well as the Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) Zambia, which focuses on safeguarding families and vulnerable children while enhancing communities through economic empowerment and education. In Ethiopia, Emirates partnered with Bravehearts Ethiopia, an NGO devoted to empowering vulnerable children with an emphasis on quality education. Roots Ethiopia addresses multiple aspects of children’s education, particularly in rural regions. Emirates has a longstanding commitment to children’s welfare programs through the Emirates Airline Foundation, and Aircrafted Kids serves as an extension of this mission.

Emirates maintains local offices in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Ethiopia. The Emirates Country Manager and their team visited each location to assist in packing and distributing the bags. They were also enthusiastic about connecting with organizations that contribute significantly to the community. The bags included school supplies like stationery, calculators, and books by local authors featuring culturally rich narratives and interactive learning opportunities.

The upcoming destinations for Aircrafted Kids schoolbags include India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, with more on the way.

The making of Aircrafted Kids Schoolbags

Emirates has pledged to repurpose over 50,000 kilograms of materials from 205 aircraft currently undergoing cabin interior renovations as part of its environmental strategy focused on responsible consumption. The Emirates Engineering team explored numerous ideas for reusing and upcycling the old materials and ultimately created sturdy backpacks. The high-quality seat fabric in Emirates Economy Class, made of 95% wool and 5% nylon, features a flat weave. It is sourced from Germany and Ireland, making it suitable for upcycling because of its durability and flame-resistant properties.

In a dedicated workshop at Emirates, a team of 14 Engineering Maintenance Assistants creatively designed and tailored a range of backpacks for children of different ages. The Emirates Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand team then identified charitable entities, schools, and foundations where the bags could be distributed for the most impact, communicating with the NGOs about their preferences. The teams spent weeks researching styles, ensuring children's bags were safe and comfortable. Across all the bag designs, the fabrics were professionally laundered, further deep cleaned by hand, leather-conditioned for the accents, and thoroughly disinfected before being sewn into unique pieces. Brand new lining was added to the bags, along with functional zippers and adjustable straps, before being packed into specially branded ‘Aircrafted Kids’ boxes and shipped to their final destinations.

With the transport and logistics fully supported by Emirates’ SkyCargo teams and dnata Logistics across the continents – Aircrafted Kids by Emirates connected the community of employees within the Emirates to achieve a meaningful goal.

Aircrafted by Emirates Limited Edition Luggage for Sale

Emirates fans can join the ‘connecting communities’ initiative by buying limited-edition luggage, which will be available in the coming months. This coincides with the launch of the second phase of the Aircrafted by Emirates retail range's capsule collection. Similar to the first collection, which sold out within days, the proceeds, after covering costs, will be donated to the Emirates Airline Foundation, aiding humanitarian projects globally.