Power of No campaign against drunk driving launched Emirates’ signature Ramadan service returns

ACROSS the Asia Pacific region, an estimated 2,000 people die each day in road collisions — a third of which involve alcohol consumption as a contributing factor, with young adults at the highest risk. In the Philippines, an estimated 12,000 people die every year in road-related accidents — about 25% of which are related to the harmful consumption of alcohol. Moreover, many Filipinos remain unaware of the risks of drinking then driving — and that the effects of alcohol could kick-in once the motorist is on the road. This is the reason why the Alcoholic Beverages Alliance of the Philippines (ABAPI) and the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), with endorsement from the Philippine National Police, have come together to amplify the message regarding the harm caused by drunk driving through the “Power of No” campaign. The regional campaign will be implemented in six countries: Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It aims to reach 10 million young adults of legal drinking age over a six-week period that includes teaser videos, commercials, and other educational content materials which will be posted on Facebook pages for each country. Across the region, the Power of No campaign is led by the Asia Pacific International Spirits and Wines Alliance (APISWA), representing global spirits and wine producers, the Automobile Association of Vietnam (AA Vietnam, a member of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile or FIA), creative agency Orès, with support from the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the European ASEAN Business Council (EUABC). While the first phase of the campaign is geared towards awareness-building and education through social media, ABAPI and AAP plan to work with partners and stakeholders to continue to educate young motorists and measure the campaign’s impact on behavior change. To learn more about Power of No, visit the campaign’s Facebook page or website.

WITH the official start of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Emirates will once again be offering its signature Ramadan services onboard and on the ground for its fasting passengers, helping them travel better and catering to their special needs during this time. Onboard, customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select Emirates destinations can expect specially crafted, nutritionally balanced iftar meals served in bespoke boxes. The meals consist of freshly prepared grain-based cold salads and sandwiches accompanied with a variety of proteins, seedless dates, laban, water, mini Arabic bread, amongst other iftar essentials. The boxes will be served on flights to select destinations during times that coincide with iftar or sohour, on flights to and from the Gulf region as well as flights catering to Umrah groups traveling to Jeddah and Medina during the month of Ramadan. In addition, cold meals will be served in lieu of a hot one on all flights to Jeddah and Medina, including Umrah day flights. The boxes have also been designed to conveniently take away if customers wish to do so. Emirates’ iftar box will be served to complement the airline’s regular hot meal service, which will include a traditional soup option for First Class passengers on select flights to break their fast. The box contents will be refreshed on a weekly basis. To ensure accuracy for fasting Muslim passengers, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak (the time to commence fasting) and iftar while in-flight, based on the times of the sunrise and sunset of the location the flight is passing by using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude, and altitude. When the sun sets, passengers will be officially informed of the iftar time by the captain. For customers on the ground boarding during iftar and sohour times, trays of dates and water will be available at gates for several destinations. At the Emirates lounges in DXB, dates and coffee as well as Arabic style sweets will be offered during Ramadan. Emirates lounges are also all equipped with dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities for worship.