Airlines cover more than 2 lakh km under Lifeline Udan to transport medical supplies across the nation

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a tweet revealed that the MoCA has operated over 218 Lifeline Udan flights to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has operated over 218 Lifeline Udan flights to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19. The fact was revealed by Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri in a tweet.

Taking to Twitter, the Civil Aviation Minister revealed that 132 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air and the cargo transported till date was around 377.50 tonnes. The aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 2,05,709 km. The Cargo load carried on 12th April 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 has operated 300 cargo flights during 24 March to 12 April 2020, out of these 95 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 94 domestic cargo flights and Indigo has operated 25. This also includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government.

An air-bridge has also been established with effect from 4 April 2020 for the transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and COVID-19 relief material.

Air India will operate dedicated scheduled cargo flights to other countries for the transfer of critical medical supplies, as per the requirement.