• This December easyJet customers and crew can help raise vital funds for children through UNICEF’s Global Education Fund

  • The fund will address children’s access to education, improve the quality of learning and provide educational support during emergencies

  • easyJet customers have already raised over £150,000 this year towards UNICEF’s Education appeal

easyJet and UNICEF have launched an onboard winter collection to support UNICEF’s Global Education Fund which aims to ensure that every child has the right to learn. Donations to the fund will be used to address children’s access to education, improve the quality of learning and provide educational support during emergencies.

UNICEF’s Global Education Fund supports innovative global programmes to strengthen education systems and give the most vulnerable children the chance to learn. These programmes are critical as, according to UNICEF data, schooling does not always lead to learning: a staggering 70% of 10 year olds in low and middle income countries today are unable to read a simple sentence. UNICEF is working with governments, partners, communities and parents to enable every child to access a quality education.

The collections are now taking place on flights across easyJet’s entire network, spanning 35 countries. The funds raised will help UNICEF provide urgent support to children and their families to tackle the learning crisis around the world.

During this Winter collection, easyJet cabin crew will be raising funds onboard and will continue the New Year with passengers able to donate in any currency. Thanks to the generosity of customers, easyJet’s partnership with UNICEF raised more than £150,000 during this year’s Summer Collection, in support of UNICEF’s Education appeal.

Michael Brown, Director of Cabin Services, commented:

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with UNICEF and to be launching our new winter collection onboard, meaning millions more easyJet customers flying over the festive period will have the opportunity to help UNICEF continue making a real difference to children and their families around the globe. Education is a fundamental right for all children so we are pleased our crew can help facilitate collections to help to provide uninterrupted education for every child.

“I would like to thank all of our customers who have already donated, for their kindness and generosity and this is, of course, all made possible by our fantastic crew, who are passionate about going the extra mile to raise money for UNICEF.”

Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive at The National Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) said:

“Education is a key social and cultural right and plays an important role in reducing poverty and child labour. Yet, 64 million children of primary school age remain out of school. This is why,  with the support of incredible partners like easyJet, UNICEF teams work around the clock to reach every child affected, ensure they have access to quality learning opportunities and can shape a better future for themselves. 

’I would like to say a sincere thank you to easyJet customers for their donations as well as to easyJet employees for their continuous support towards UNICEF’s work for children.”

For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office on 01582 525252, log onto www.easyJet.com or follow @easyJet_Press

Notes to editors

In 2022, supporters of the Education Fund enabled UNICEF to allocate resources to education programmes in 120 countries and territories. The Education Fund has three focus areas:

  • Addressing children’s access to education: Access to education is critical to UNICEF as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Education is a key social and cultural right and plays an important role in reducing poverty and child labour. It also promotes democracy, peace, tolerance, development and economic growth. UNICEF programmes work towards ensuring that all children have equitable access to education, regardless of who they are and where they live. Programmes at UNICEF emphasise this to ensure that children are not excluded from learning on the basis of gender, disability, poverty, ethnicity.

  • Improving the quality of learning: Key to UNICEF’s work is addressing the gap between what students are learning and what they need to thrive in their communities and future jobs. UNICEF focuses on foundational literacy and numeracy as well as skills for life and work for adolescents.  UNICEF’s aim is that every child learns in a safe, friendly environment, taught by qualified and motivated teachers, in languages students can understand.

  • Providing educational support during emergencies: Children living through conflict and natural disasters are in urgent need of educational support, which helps to keep them safe and create a sense of normality. In many humanitarian responses, UNICEF is the largest provider of educational support and psychological first aid.

Image Credits

  • UNICEF.UN0753327.Bos

  • UNICEF.UNI490426.Panjwani

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 96 million passengers in 2019 – more than 16 million travelling for business. The airline has over 300 aircraft on nearly 1000 routes to more than 150 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 over £14m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

The airline takes sustainability seriously having joined the UN-backed Race to Zero in November 2021. easyJet has recently published its roadmap to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a focus on new technology and the ultimate ambition to achieve zero carbon emission flying across its entire fleet, which the airline is working on together with its partners including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Wright Electric. The roadmap also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology. Additionally, it includes an interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035. Since 2000, over a 20-year period, the airline has already reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third through continued fleet renewal, efficient operations and aiming to fill most of its seats.

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching over 25 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital, web, engineering and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for its passengers.