1. How Does WFP-UNHAS Communicate with Users?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 Administrative / Management of WFP-UNHAS

1. How does WFP-UNHAS communicate with Users?  All User organizations are requested to designate a focal point person, through whom WFP-UNHAS will communicate all information with regards to flight schedule changes, cancellations, delays etc.  User Groups in the respective Field Stations (WFP-UNHAS Hubs). N.B: Users are requested to kindly take the Focal Point Form from the WFP- UNHAS Booking Office.

2. Why agencies/NGOs are only allowed to have 5 confirmed staff members per flight? In order to allow as many agencies as possible access to the air service and achieve a balanced usage of the service. Should an agency have more than 5 staff members to travel as a team, a special request should be made for WFP-UNHAS to try to accommodate their needs.

3. At the outstations; if there are seats available, why can't a passenger board the flight?  According to Aviation regulations no passenger should fly on any aircraft without his/her name being duly manifested and the passenger issued with tickets. It is against ICAO and National Regulations, to transport un- manifested passengers.  Even Though sometimes, seats are available additional passengers may not be accepted due to fuel already uplifted and load onboard the aircraft - During Flight Preparation, the crew plans the route considering passenger-Cargo load/fuel ratio. N.B: An aircraft can have an empty seat but can be technically full, based upon the Operating parameters of the origin and/or destination airfields.

4. Who should Users contact in case of discrepancies in the account charges?  All users are encouraged to contact the WFP – UNHAS Finance Office at the earliest, upon discovering any discrepancies. WFP – UNHAS Finance Office sends out the Financial Statement to all Users at the end of each month. All users are advised to contact the Finance Office, within than two weeks after receiving their statement, in case of any discrepancies.

5. WFP-UNHAS policy with regards to travel of Dependants/family members. WFP – UNHAS is only permitted to carry Humanitarian workers to/from the field locations. This does not include family members and/or dependants. In emergency cases, the authority to approve exceptions lies with the HC office and/or WFP Country Representative.

6. What is the WFP-UNHAS policy with regards to travel of Infants on WFP- UNHAS Flights? WFP – UNHAS will only accept infants below the age of 2 years accompanying the mothers on Humanitarian mission. The Users are requested to kindly mention the age of the infant on the Booking Forms.

7. What are the WFP-UNHAS conditions of Cargo Carriage? All cargo is subjected to inspection by WFP – UNHAS staff members to ensure proper packaging and labelling, to be duly carried out by the requesting agency. WFP-UNHAS or its agents will not be liable for any loss or damage to cargo or excess baggage during storage, loading, offloading and/or transportation. The User is requested to kindly ensure the cargo is duly collected from the WFP- UNHAS Office at the destination on the same day of arrival.

8. What are WFP-UNHAS working days? WFP – UNHAS in North Sudan and Darfur works on Saturdays through Thursdays In South Sudan, the working days are Mondays through Saturdays.

9. How is WFP-UNHAS funded? WFP – UNHAS is donor funded- the Donor Community, CERF, CHF, private donors.

10. What is the administrative / financial framework within which WFP- UNHAS operates? WFP – UNHAS operates under the clear financial / administrative policies and procedures of WFP.

11. What is the Booking Fee? Who decides the Booking fee? WFP – UNHAS charges a nominal Booking Fee per flight. This Nominal Booking fee is decided by the UNHAS Steering Committee.

12. What is the purpose of the Nominal Booking Fees?  The Nominal Booking fee is introduced as a mechanism to reduce No Shows.  Money collected from this, is reintroduced in the UNHAS financial system to add up to funding received.

13. What is the WFP-UNHAS Steering Committee? It is a body that seeks to provide:  Administrative and Policy Guidance.  Funds and Funding Mobilization.  Bridging of Government protocol Vis-à-vis WFP – UNHAS operations. 14. What is the WFP-UNHAS User Group Committee? It is a forum where WFP – UNHAS Users discuss issues of concern in relation to:  Locations to be serviced and number of flights per week.  Cargo and/or Passenger Capacity.  Justification for additional Funding.  Any other concerns regarding UNHAS flights

15. What is the WFP-UNHAS Mandate? In the area of operation, WFP-UNHAS mandate and objective is to provide a safe, reliable and efficient air transport to the Humanitarian community where no reliable commercial air transport exists and surface transport is not viable.

16. Who are the major stakeholders in having the daily flights launched?  Humanitarian Aid Commission  Military Intelligence  National Security  Civil Aviation Authority  Airport Management  Contracted Operators  Users

17. Does WFP-UNHAS own the aircraft? No, WFP-UNHAS follows the WFP contracting process in acquiring the aircraft.

18. Does WFP-UNHAS have a funding for infrastructure development .i.e. Helipads, Runway etc.?  The WFP-UNHAS budget has no provision for infrastructure development.  WFP-UNHAS relies on the existing infrastructure i.e. Runway, Helipads. Upon request of Users to provide service to locations where there is no service due to lacking infrastructure i.e. poor runway conditions, helipads, WFP- UNHAS will fall on the User Committee to improve the infrastructure. For example, some agencies used projects like “Food for work” to get this done.

19. Why is WFP-UNHAS providing a different service, separate from UNMIS? The UNMIS mandate has a Military Component. WFP-UNHAS has a purely Humanitarian mandate.

N.B: As per decision on HCLM (United Nations Executive Board for Coordination) Geneva in 2002, there are two categories of flights operations – Peace Keeping and Humanitarian/others. 20. Does WFP-UNHAS offer catering onboard its flights? No, WFP-UNHAS does not serve food and/or drinks onboard the flights because such catering services have to come from an approved Catering Facility/Caterer, which will increase the cost of flights. WFP-UNHAS is however, considering the possibility of serving water on board the flights.

 WFP-UNHAS Sudan Route Schedule

21. What are the determinants of WFP-UNHAS Flight Schedule / Frequency?  Fleet Size – Funding.  User Group  Load Factor / Optimum Aircraft Utilization.

22. What are the main hubs for WFP-UNHAS Sudan? WFP-UNHAS operates from the following Nine hubs from which further movement of passengers is supported.  Khartoum  Nyala  Fasher  Genenia  Malakal  Wau  Rumbek  Juba  Lokichoggio.  Flight Bookings / Manifesting

23. How should reservation / Bookings be made? All users have to submit a WFP-UNHAS TRAVEL REQUEST FORM duly signed and stamped by the Authorized personnel. This may be hand delivered or scanned and emailed to [email protected]. (or [email protected] or [email protected])

24. How much time is required in advance for users to make reservation / Bookings? Not earlier than one month and not later than 3 working days (72hours) from the requested flight date.

25. What is the responsibility of the Users regarding Bookings? The User Organizations are to designate a focal point, who would be responsible for ensuring the submission of timely bookings, confirmations/cancellation of bookings.

26. Who is responsible for updating the Focal Point Lists? The user organization which the focal point is representing. 27. How can users know the regularity of the flights? Or to know in advance the following weeks flight schedule? WFP-UNHAS has a regular monthly flight schedule. When revisions are made all Agencies and NGOs are advised accordingly via focal points emails provided. This schedule is available at the WFP-UNHAS booking office, or on request via email. Please feel free to request for a copy via [email protected].

28. How many passengers can any one Organization book for any one flight? A maximum of 5 bookings per flight can be confirmed on WFP-UNHAS Flights. Any additional seats would be booked on a Stand-by Basis. Should there be special need for additional seats, a written request justifying the same should be forwarded to WFP-UNHAS at the time of booking.

29. How much luggage is a passenger allowed? Each passenger is authorized 15kgs only. Any excess baggage request has to be duly booked via the Cargo Request Form and will be accepted subject to weight/space availability. Please note the limitation is enforced due to SAFETY reasons and in order to maximize the seats available on each aircraft.

30. How can the User confirm if WFP-UNHAS has received the Booking Forms?  WFP-UNHAS Booking Officer stamps a copy of the duly approved Booking Form, when received at the Booking Office. The original is kept with WFP- UNHAS and the photocopy returned to the User.  For bookings via e-mail, a confirmation mail is sent to the requesting agency focal point.

31. How does one know if he/she is confirmed? The focal point of the respective Organization (or the passenger) is to confirm if the passenger is on the flight by checking with the Passenger Manifest, which is duly displayed outside the WFP-UNHAS Offices, a day prior to the Flight.

32. What should a passenger do in case a flight is cancelled? Passenger or the Focal Point should immediately contact the WFP-UNHAS booking Office in order to re-confirm the passenger’s intent of travel. When a flight cancellation is known in advance, WFP-UNHAS will advise all users via e-mail to their designated focal points. However due to unforeseen technical problems sometimes, WFP-UNHAS is unable to inform the users in advance.

33. What happens to a passenger’s connections, if the preceding flight is cancelled? If a passenger misses a flight, he/she has to make another booking request for the next available flight. In case, WFP-UNHAS has cancelled the previous connection, then the passenger will be rebooked for the next available flight, at no additional cost. 34. How does an agency request a Charter flight? An official request in writing from the Head of the requesting Agency should be sent WFP-UNHAS, stating the reason and/or the focal point completing the Charter Request Form and submitting the duly stamped and approved form to WFP-UNHAS Booking office. WFP-UNHAS reserves the right to approve or disapprove any Charter flight request. Charter flight requests are assigned on first come first served basis and submission of the request should be at least 5 days prior to the intended flight date.

35. Can an Agency replace the manifested passenger for another staff member? Tickets shall not be exchanged nor traded. Therefore, the organization cannot replace a duly manifested passenger with another un-manifested passenger.

36. How soon does WFP-UNHAS advise passengers with regards to Flight Cancellations? WFP – UNHAS Booking office will send out a pre-advise to all Users, as soon as possible for a cancelled flight stating the reason. However, all users to bear in mind, that on certain occasions due to “Force Majeur”, etc reasons, the flight has to be cancelled en-route. WFP-UNHAS does not provide meal vouchers or hotel accommodation for delayed or cancelled flights.

37. If a passenger books and later, the name is not found on the Manifest, what should the passenger to do? The passenger is advised to contact the WFP-UNHAS Booking Office immediately or the focal point of the organization can do so on behalf of the passenger and necessary action will be taken.

38. In case of no WFP-UNHAS office at a field location, how does the passenger confirm name on the Passenger Manifest? The passenger is advised to contact the WFP-UNHAS representative in the field. If not, then the organization’s focal point is responsible for confirming the passengers name with the Passenger Manifest and advising the passenger accordingly, stating all the flight details. Passengers may also confirm that via the WFP radio room, if WFP is present at the location.

39. How does a passenger in the field be advised with regards to changes in flight schedules? The respective WFP-UNHAS Booking Office will advise focal points changes in the schedule at the earliest possible. In the event of flight cancellation, the passenger is advised to contact the WFP-UNHAS booking office immediately or the focal point of the respective organization who on behalf of the passenger will contact the WFP-UNHAS booking office for rebooking. 40. Why is there a 72 Hour booking deadline for the South, in the absence of any limiting factors from the authorities in South Sudan? To prevent over booking and subsequent “bumping off” of passengers under Centralized Booking System, a uniform cut off time is required. This is necessary especially for passengers connecting other flights to their final destinations. The Centralized Booking System is a way of maximizing the reduced fleet under one project.

 Check-In

41. Check-in Times The WFP-UNHAS Hubs(Khartoum, Nyala, Fasher, Geneina, Malakal, Wau, Rumbek, Juba and Lokichoggio), Check-in time starts two hours before scheduled departure, and closes 40 minutes before departure. In the field, where WFP-UNHAS does not have any presence, passengers are requested to arrive 30 minutes prior to the Estimated time of Arrival of the aircraft. Confirmed passenger arriving after closing time may lose the right to a seat. Wait-listed passengers will be confirmed after the regular check-in closes.

42. Should the users pick up the tickets at the WFP-UNHAS booking counter or at the airport? Users are advised to collect flight tickets one day prior to the flight date from the respective WFP- UNHAS Booking Office. In locations with no WFP-UNHAS presence, the crew will issue tickets.

43. What is the sequence in accepting the waiting list passengers on a manifest? The waiting list is based on a first come first served basis for Check-in. The first wait-listed passenger arriving at the airport will be considered the number one to be transported in case a seat becomes available.

44. What is a “No Show” passenger? A duly manifested passenger, who does not report for Check-in on time or does not avail of the booked flight at all, is considered a “No Show” passenger.

45. What is a “Go Show”? A passenger who is not manifested, but is accepted onboard WFP-UNHAS Flights, under exceptional circumstances and duly authorized by the Chief Air Transport Officer. A Go-show passenger (or his /her focal point) should submit a duly filled booking request form. 46. Does WFP-UNHAS play a role with regards to Customs, Immigrations, Travel Permits of the passengers during Check-in? No, WFP-UNHAS does not play any role in determining the issues with regards to Customs, Immigrations and Travel Permits and security of passengers during Check-in.

47. Who is to be contacted in case a passenger is missing his/her baggage? The passenger is requested to report missing baggage to the WFP-UNHAS Office at the destination immediately upon arrival. In case of no WFP-UNHAS Office, the focal point should contact the WFP-UNHAS Office at the originating station.

 Evacuations – Medical / Security

48. How does the User request for Medical Evacuation? The organizations with access to the WFP-UNHAS aircraft may request for a medical evacuation for their staff. At the field level, the organization should contact WFP-UNHAS, or in his/her absence the UN Security Officer. Please note, WFP-UNHAS aircraft are not equipped as air ambulances. Nevertheless, the aircraft can be configured with a stretcher. A doctor’s report will be required as evidence that the evacuee is authorized and fit to fly.

49. How does the User request for Security Evacuation? The authority to approve the use of WFP-UNHAS aircraft for security evacuations lies with, The Designated Official (DO) for Security in the region which lies with the Humanitarian Co-Coordinator for Sudan. Accurate information is essential in order to launch an effective evacuation.

Requirements to use WFP-UNHAS Service

50. How does one register as a User for WFP-UNHAS? The Registration for use of WFP-UNHAS flights in Northern Sudan must be made through the office of the Resident Humanitarian Coordinator (RHC) in Khartoum and in the South Sudan, the Deputy Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Southern Sudan in Juba. For NGOs in the North, a certificate will be required from HAC, and for the South a certificate will be required from SSRRC.

The RHC/DRHC, upon acceptance of application will advise WFP-UNHAS of such approval. Agency will then be required to establish an account with UNHAS finance department. WFP UNHAS Contact Details:

Khartoum: Booking Office : 00 249 1 8358 7391 Admin / Finance Office : 00 249 1 8358 7392

Juba: 0811 820164, +873 764019266, +249 912179820 Loki : 00 254 735 333026, +873 762063935