A Liverpool man will help 10,000 Ukrainian refugees fly to the UK free of charge.
Steve Morgan, the Liverpool-born founder of housebuilder Redrow, is working as part of a scheme to allow refugees to travel from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to the UK. It is part of the government's 'Homes for Ukraine' visa programme.
Through his charitable foundation, Mr Morgan has partnered with the airline Wizz Air and three other not-for-profit organisations – Choose Love, The Shapiro Foundation and the Ukraine Sponsorship Pathway UK (USPUK), reports BusinessLive.
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Mr Morgan said: "It’s fantastic that we’re able to play a key role in helping 10,000 Ukrainians left devastated by the war. Working with our excellent partners this is a great example of how we can make a difference."
The news comes after Mr Morgan pledged in March to meet the cost of bringing 1,000 Ukrainian refugees to the UK. He said the "logistical challenges" of the task meant that it has been necessary to redirect their efforts into targeted approaches like the free flight initiative.
He added: "We’ve had a lot of discussions behind the scenes but logistically our initial ideas were proving extremely difficult and the Ukrainian people need help immediately. By partnering with Wizz Air, Choose Love, The Shapiro Foundation and USPUK we’re able to offer immediate help on the ground. Moving forward we’ll continue to take a much more targeted approach to help the Ukrainian people."
Refugees Minister Lord Harrington said: "Bringing as many Ukrainians as possible to safety remains our number one priority and I am delighted to see this support from Wizz Air for our Homes for Ukraine scheme.
"I have been continually amazed by the huge amount of work happening on the ground and am grateful for both the generosity of the public and the ongoing efforts of foundations like the Shapiro Foundation, Choose Love and the Steve Morgan Foundation in providing Ukrainians with a safe and welcoming journey to the UK.
"This scheme must be a team effort and I encourage other businesses to step forward and partner with the third sector where they can." Hungarian airline Wizz Air operates a fleet of 149 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.
