easyJet partners with the Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North (SARDA IN) to support rescue missions across Europe and North Africa

• New partnership will enable SARDA IN urban search & rescue (USAR) dogs to travel in the cabin on selected easyJet flights departing from the UK
• With a network spanning over 120 destinations from 21 UK airports, the partnership will help SARDA IN search dogs reach disaster zones to be mobilised quickly to support life-saving missions across Europe and beyond.

easyJet has partnered with Northern Ireland emergency search and rescue dog charity, SARDA IN, to allow their highly-trained dogs to travel in the cabin on selected easyJet flights departing from the UK.

Travelling in the cabin can reduce the stress and potential risks associated with their transportation, ensuring these specially trained dogs can be deployed quicker and more efficiently to disaster zones and critical incidents.

With flights to over 120 destinations across Europe and North Africa from 21 UK airports, easyJet’s new partnership with the Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North (SARDA IN) will make it easier for these vital working animals to support life-saving missions.

This will allow them to respond swiftly to any international crises, ensuring faster mobilisation of their USAR dog teams to deliver critical aid where it’s needed most. SARDA IN has provided specialist search and rescue services to disasters worldwide for more than 40 years.

The emergency organisation’s search and rescue dogs are deployed by various bodies, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, Mountain Rescue Teams, and the Gardai.

Trained in various specialist disciplines, these highly-trained dogs can locate high-risk and vulnerable missing people in diverse environments, such as mountains, open countryside, forests, urban areas, watercourses and disaster areas, both in the UK, Ireland and abroad.

Ali Gayward, easyJet UK Country Manager, said:

“easyJet is incredibly proud to be able to support Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North.  As the largest airline in the UK and in Northern Ireland, it is a great privilege for us to be able to offer our network of over 560 routes from 21 UK airports, to help their teams deploy quickly to wherever they are needed most for their life-saving missions.”

 Raph O’Connor, SARDA IN Training Officer, said:

“As a volunteer-based organisation and registered charity, SARDA IN deeply values the critical support provided by easyJet. Their offer of free flights enables our dedicated handlers and highly trained USAR dogs to be rapidly deployed to international disaster zones. This invaluable assistance will ensure that we can reach those in urgent need without delay, allowing us to focus on saving lives, knowing that travel logistics are no longer a barrier.”

For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office via medicentre.easyJet.com/contacts or on 01582 525252

About easyJet

easyJet is Europe’s leading airline offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe’s primary airports with great value fares and friendly service.

easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline and carried more than 82 million passengers in 2023 with more than 11.3 million travelling for business. The airline has over 300 aircraft flying on nearly 1000 routes to more than 155 airports across 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live within one hour’s drive of an easyJet airport.

easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in eight countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports several local charities and has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised nearly £17m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

In 2022, easyJet published its roadmap to net zero by 2050. The roadmap, which also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology, has set an ambitious interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035 which is validated by the Science-based targets initiative (SBTi). The airline’s ultimate aim is to fully transition its fleet to zero carbon emission technology, which it will achieve through a number of strategic partnerships including with Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace Solutions. Since 2000, the airline has successfully reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third.   

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching nearly 30 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for its passengers.

In 2023 easyJet was named by TIME as one of the World’s Best Companies and a Leader in Diversity 2024 by The Financial Times.

About SARDA IN

Founded in 1978, for over 40 years the registered charity (NIC No: 101234) Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North (SARDA IN), has been training and deploying qualified search and rescue (SAR) dogs in the North and South of Ireland, the UK and Internationally in numerous SAR disciplines.

They are the only registered voluntary SAR dog team on the Northern Ireland Search and Rescue (NISAR) assets register https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-search-and-rescue, which falls under the overall direction of the Department of Justice NI (DOJ) https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/. SARDA IN are the only registered voluntary dog team from North/South of Ireland with membership of the International Search and Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO) https://www.iro-dogs.org/en/  – the international governing body for SAR dogs.

SARDA IN dogs are tasked and deployed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) https://www.psni.police.uk/, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) https://www.nifrs.org/, Mountain Rescue Teams across Ireland/UK and the Gardai to incidents 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. All our dogs are trained in several specialist disciplines to locate high risk/vulnerable missing persons in the mountains, open countryside/forests, urban search and rescue (USAR), watercourses, trailing and cadaver, both at home and abroad.

Entirely run by volunteers, SARDA IN over the past 40years has provided their specialised SAR service to disasters across Ireland and beyond including earthquakes, war zones and tragedies. Major rescues undertaken by SARDA IN include (sadly) the recent Creeslough tragedy, rescues in the Mourne Mountains, earthquakes in Turkey, Pakistan and Algeria, the Lockerbie Air Disaster and at the time, support to the 9/11 disaster in New York, as well as working with partners and international rescue teams abroad. SARDA IN regularly attend joint training exercises with their global partners Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID UK) to ensure their readiness for any future deployments.

SARDA IN also has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with both the NIFRS and SARAID UK, which we are extremely proud of.

Currently SARDA IN have 16 qualified SAR dogs and 8 trainee SAR dogs from a wide variety of breeds such as, Retrievers, Border Collies, German Shepherds, Black & Tan American Coonhound, Sprocker, Labradors, Dutch Shepherds and Springer Spaniels all of which work alongside the  Emergency Services.

Saving lives across the world, SARDA IN search dogs are one of the most important first responders to major disasters at home and globally.