FW Bureau;
‘Lifeline Udan’ flights are being operated by MoCA to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19. 383 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and private carriers. 223 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. Cargo transported till date is around 684.08 tons. Aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 3,76,952km.
Pawan Hans till 25 April 2020 have carried 1.99 tons of cargo covering a distance of 6,885kms. Helicopter services including Pawan Hans Ltdhave been operating in J&K, Ladakh, Islands and North East region transporting critical medical cargo and patients. Special focus has been on the North East Region, island territories and the hill states.
Air India and IAF collaborated primarily for J&K, Ladakh, North-East and other island regions.
Domestic Cargo Operators SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis. Spicejet operated 579 cargo flights during 24 March to 25 April 2020 covering a distance of 10,12,586 km and carrying 4246 tons of cargo. Out of these,208 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 207 cargo flights covering a distance of 2,19,978 km and carrying 3,399tons of cargo during 25 March to 25 April 2020. Out of these, 9 were international cargo flights. Indigo has operated 48 cargo flights during 3-25 April 2020 covering a distance of 72,222 km and carrying around 167tons of cargo and including 15 international flights. This also includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government. Vistara has operated 12 cargo flights during 19-25 April 2020 covering a distance of 16,952 km and carrying around 82tons of cargo.
In international sector, a cargo air-bridge was established with East Asia for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and Covid-19 relief material. The quantity of medical cargo brought in by Air India is 554 tons till 25th April 2020.
In addition to the above, Blue Dart has uplifted around 90 tons of medical supplies from Guangzhou starting 14 April upto 25 April 2020. Blue Dart has also uplifted 5 tons of medical cargo from Shanghai on 25 April 2020. Spicejet has also uplifted 124 tons of medical supplies from Shanghai upto 25 April 2020 and 13 tons medical supplies from Hong Kong and Singapore upto 25 April 2020.
