Charity and community investment

Flying Start

Flying Start is our flagship charity programme, a global partnership with Comic Relief since 2010. Through the partnership we focus on helping disadvantaged young people in the UK and around the world to have the best possible start in life. For example, we’re currently investing over £2 million of the funds raised into projects across the UK, as well as in India, Ghana and South Africa, which focus on early childhood development.

During flights we encourage our customers to donate any spare currency they have because small change makes a big difference. You can also add a donation when booking your flights.

Thanks to your generosity so far – and the incredible fundraising efforts of British Airways employees – we’ve raised over £24 million in support of Flying Start, which has helped Comic Relief to reach over 800,000 people. This includes over 100,000 children across Sub Saharan Africa that have been immunised against deadly diseases and over 2,700 vulnerable young people at risk of social exclusion in the UK, with support to improve confidence and life skills.

Helping communities respond in times of crisis

In times of crisis, both in the UK and internationally, we work with partners, including the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the British Red Cross, to ensure that vital relief gets to where it’s needed as quickly as possible.

Since 2013 we’ve raised over £1.7 million to help people affected by humanitarian crisis. Funds raised in response to Cyclone Idai in 2019, which devastated already vulnerable communities across Southern Africa, helped to deliver food assistance to 48,300 people, emergency shelter to 15,700 families and items including seeds, tools and livestock to over 220,000 people, helping them to start rebuilding their livelihoods.

In the UK, we work in partnership with the British Red Cross to support communities affected by emergencies, from extreme weather to house fires. Our support helps to recruit, train and support British Red Cross staff and volunteers to help those in crisis with basic necessities, like first aid, food and shelter, as well as providing emotional support.

Supporting our colleagues

Alongside these partnerships, we help our colleagues to support other causes close to their hearts through our accredited payroll giving and match funding schemes, through which we provide support to more than 600 different charities every year.

If you’d like to get in touch please email us on community.branch@ba.com