The United Nations has announced $48 million in emergency funding to sustain its humanitarian air operations across multiple crisis-hit countries.
Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher allocated the funds from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which provides critical air transport for aid workers and relief supplies.
The funding will keep UNHAS operations running in eight countries: Nigeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at a briefing in New York on Thursday that the service remains a vital lifeline, enabling humanitarian workers from the UN, NGOs, and civil society to reach vulnerable populations and deliver assistance, in line with World Food Programme operations.
He warned, however, that declining global humanitarian funding could force UNHAS to suspend flights in the absence of continued financial support.
Dujarric said the latest allocation was made possible following a $2 billion contribution from the United States to UN-managed humanitarian funds.
He also noted that the suspension of fixed-wing UNHAS operations in Nigeria in September 2025, due to funding shortages, had already disrupted humanitarian access in the conflict-affected northeast.
The UN warned that the broader funding crisis is also threatening food and nutrition assistance, with the World Food Programme previously cautioning that up to 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria could face reduced support.
In 2024, UNHAS transported more than 9,000 passengers, while in 2025 over 4,500 humanitarian workers relied on its services to reach hard-to-access communities affected by conflict.
