62 Lifeline Udan flights carry over 15.4 tonnes medical supplies in 5 days

April 1, 2020: As India is fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched ‘Lifeline Udan’ flights for the movement of medical and essential supplies across the country. Under this initiative, 62 flights have been operated during the five day period from March 26 to 30, transporting over 15.4 tons of essential medical supplies. 45 out of the 62 flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air.

The carriers involved in Lifeline Udan operations include Air India, Alliance Air, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Pawan Hans. Support is being provided by Airports Authority of India (AAI), AAICLAS (cargo and logistics subsidiary of AAI), AI Airports Services (AIASL), PPP airports and private ground handling entities.

These flights are being operated by @IAF_MCC, @airindiain, Alliance Air, @IndiGo6E, @BlueDart_ & @flyspicejet to various cities since 26 March. There is no doubt that by the efforts being put by every stakeholder, India will be able to contain & prevent the spread of #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/oelqmPIvPz

— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 1, 2020

Control room and different cargoes
Private carriers like IndiGo, Spicejet and Blue Dart are operating medical cargo flights on a commercial basis. The flights are being coordinated by a control room set up at Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) under the direct supervision of the MoCA leadership. The Lifeline Udan cargo includes Covid-19 related reagents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), masks, gloves and other accessories required by Corona Warriors across the country.

C-130 Super Hercules aircraft landed at Dimapur with the second consignment of emergency medical equip. & also equipment for disaster mngt. through the support of @IAF_MCC. The state govt. will ensure that it reaches every district in #Nagaland on time. #TogetherWeCan @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/WX7pKOvAfO

— Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) March 30, 2020

Cargo hubs and a special focus on North East
The Lifeline Udan flights are planned using a hub and spoke model. Cargo hubs have been established at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata. Lifeline Udan flights connect these hubs to each other and therefrom to different parts of the country.

A special focus has been on the North East Region (NER), island territories and the hill states. NER is being connected by Lifeline Udan through the regional hubs in Kolkata, Bagdogra and Guwahati. These, in turn, are connected to cities like Dibrugarh, Shillong, Aizawl, Agartala, Imphal and Dimapur using turboprops and helicopters.

#SupportFightCorona MBB Airport,Agartala today received 57 cartons of cargo weighing 593kg of relief materials & essential items from Delhi & Kolkata. Alliance Air operated the cargo flight and it landed at Agartala at 20:24 IST. This is the 2nd cargo flt in a span of two days. pic.twitter.com/KJiKvIw6NQ

— AAI MBB Airport, Agartala (@aaiagtairport) March 29, 2020

Website for Lifeline Udan
A website for Lifeline Udan flights has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) and MoCA in a short period to enable seamless coordination between various agencies. The website (link available on MoCA’s website www.civilaviation.gov.in) allows state governments and airlines to upload their consignment and flights details respectively, in advance. The MoCA control room then assigns the cargo consignments to different flights and coordinates with multiple stakeholders until the consignment reaches its destination. There is no service fee levied on the website.

Air India’s air bridge connecting China
On the international front, Air India has established a cargo air-bridge between India and China. Regular cargo flights for transporting critical medical equipment and supplies between the two countries are likely to be operated by Air India from April 3, 2020, onwards.