Airlines cover more than 2 lakh km to move vital medical supplies across the nation

April 14, 2020: Over 218 Lifeline Udan flights have been operated by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19.

Cargo transported till date is around 377.50 tons and the aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 2,05,709 km. 132 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. The Cargo load carried on April 12, 2020, was 4.27 tonnes.

A special focus has been on the North East Region, island territories and the hill states. The bulk of the cargo comprises light-weight and voluminous products like masks, gloves and other consumables, that consume relatively larger storage space on the aircraft. Special permission has been taken to store cargo in the passenger seating area and overhead cabins, with due precautions.

Domestic Cargo Operators Spice Jet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis. Spicejet operated 300 cargo flights during 24 March to 12 April 2020 covering a distance of 4, 26, 533 km and carrying 2478 tons of cargo. Out of these 95 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 94 domestic cargo flights covering a distance of 92,075 km and carrying 1479 tons of cargo from 25 March to 12 April 2020. Indigo has operated 25 cargo flights during 3-12 April 2020 covering a distance of 21,906 km and carrying around 21.77 tons of cargo. This also includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government.

Domestic cargo by Spicejet

International cargo by Spicejet

International Sector : An air-bridge has been established with effect from 4 April 2020 for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and Covid-19 relief material. Within South Asia, Air India transported around 9 tons of supplies on 7th April 2020 and 4 tons on 8th April 2020 to Colombo. Air India will operate dedicated scheduled cargo flights to other countries for the transfer of critical medical supplies, as per the requirement.

The date-wise quantity of medical cargo brought in as follows:

Cargo handling at all stages is done following due safety measures.