Lebanese pilot hailed for leading aid after Turkey-Syria earthquake

The Lebanese pilot volunteered to lead the Tunisian aid plane to Aleppo, loaded with more than 60 tons of medical supplies, relief aid, and a field hospital with a Tunisian medical ambulance team of 45 doctors and paramedics alone.   

She then visited Turkey on a personal initiative, and later under the umbrella of the United Nations through the High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF, and the facilitation of the Turkish authorities in Ankara, Belahssine transported more than 850 bodies of Syrian victims from Turkey to Syria after documenting their identities, and the process is still ongoing.   

Previously, Kenza Belahssine had volunteered to lead flights from Tunisia to Lebanon loaded with medical, food, and in-kind aid after the August 4, 2020, explosion. She stayed for over two months in Beirut, leading a team to remove rubble, clean the streets, and shelter people.   

The Lebanese-Tunisian pilot is the Captain of the Airbus A380-800, and according to the National News Agency (NNA), she won the "FIFA" award as the best captain pilot during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.