Boeing Co. has offered up use of its Dreamlifter, a massive cargo plane that transports parts for the South Carolina-made 787 Dreamliner, to carry critical items during the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead of hauling wings and fuselages to final assembly sites, the modified 747 plane may be used by the federal government in the coming weeks to ship medical supplies.
Boeing is “coordinating closely with government officials” to organize use of the aircraft, the company said in a statement.
President Donald Trump mentioned the offer in a press briefing on Friday. Trump, who said he had spoken earlier that day with Boeing CEO David Calhoun, described the Dreamlifter as “the largest plane in the world.”
The aircraft is the world’s largest by at least one measure: It hauls more cargo by volume than any airplane in the world, according to Boeing.
The Dreamlifter’s oversized cargo hold was designed specifically to fit parts for the 787 Dreamliner. Since the plane’s components are sourced from around the world, use of the aircraft significantly reduces transportation time.
Trump said the plane could be used to haul “heavy product or large quantities of product” during the health crisis.
Boeing has four Dreamlifters in service. One of the homes for the plane is in North Charleston where the aerospace giant builds all three versions of the 787 Dreamliner.
Boeing also announced it will be producing face shields for healthcare workers on the front lines of the health crisis. The protective equipment will be made using 3D printing capabilities at several Boeing sites, including those in St. Louis and Philadelphia, “as long as those facilities remain in operation,” the company said.
The face shields are not being made at the North Charleston site.
This week, Boeing’s South Carolina campus is the company’s only facility assembling commercial aircraft.
The North Charleston outpost typically splits production of the 787 Dreamliner with a plant in Everett, Wash., but that campus — along with every other Boeing facility in Washington state — is in the midst of a two-week shutdown that started last Wednesday.
The production pause was called in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. About two dozen Boeing workers in the Puget Sound region had tested positive for COVID-19 before the shutdown started, and one died after coming down with the illness.
Boeing reported about a week ago that one worker at its North Charleston campus tested positive for the virus.
That remains the only confirmed case of COVID-19 identified among the roughly 7,000 company employees in the state, spokeswoman Libba Holland said.
Production has continued normally in North Charleston, but a portion of employees are working remotely. The company has not specified what share of its employees are still reporting for work at the plant.
