New Delhi: India has brought 348 tones of medical cargo from China, South Korea and Hong Kong till now in the wake of the corona pandemic.
The process of bringing pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and Covid-19 relief material began on 4 April 2020. Air India will conduct dedicated scheduled cargo flights to various nations for brining critical medical supplies, as per need, the government said in a statement.
These flights are being operated under the ‘Lifeline Udan’ operations. Under this operation, Air India, IAF and Vistara carried 36 tones of cargo on 22 April 2020.
Domestic cargo airlines like SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on commercial basis. Spicejet operated 495 cargo flights in 24 March-22 April 2020 period and carried 3,837 tons of cargo. Out of 495 flights, 166 were international cargo flights.
Blue Dart flew 169 cargo flights and carried 2,749 tones of cargo in the 25 March-22 April 2020 period. Out of 169, two were international cargo flights. Indigo flew 35 cargo flights and carried 84 tones of cargo. This included six international flights. This also includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government.