Cathay Pacific sends medical supplies to India amidst COVID-19 surge

Some 100 tonnes of supplies were flown direct to India.

Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific has delivered more than 100 tonnes of relief shipments to India amidst the COVID-19 surge in the country.

Through Cathay Pacific Cargo, the airline has been operating freighters and cargo-only passenger flights to bring humanitarian and medical supplies to India over the past few weeks.

“We have been supporting efforts to relieve this current crisis in India through the delivery of medical supplies on our freighters and cargo-only passenger flights,” Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Commercial George Edmunds said.

Cathay Pacific Cargo operated 24 pairs of cargo-only passenger flights to India in March and 29 in April to satisfy demand and supplement freighter operations.

“We are noticing a sharp increase in the volume of enquiries from the Americas and closer to home from the Chinese mainland for space for humanitarian aid shipments to India, and we will do our best to accommodate these essential shipments.”

The shipment included specialised oxygen generators, oxygen concentrators and ventilators to Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The shipment of oxygen, surgical masks, sanitiser, personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and vaccines also increased sharply in volume.

Edmunds said the airline is looking into maximising the capacity through additional cargo-carrying flights. Cathay Pacific will also continue coordinating with Indian authorities.

Cases in India, according to its health ministry, has risen to over 373,000 as of 9 May, while death tolls stood at 242,000.