Though commercial flights stand suspended in India due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the skies are still buzzing with regular cargo flights to transport critical medical equipment and supplies.
By 5 pm on September 5, according to a press communiqué released by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Sunday, as many as 116 flights have already been operated by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF, Pawan Hans and private carriers under Lifeline UDAN.
Lifeline Udan is a government initiative for air transport of medical cargo and essential supplies across India at the time of the Covid-19 crisis.
The Civil Aviation Ministry says that 79 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. Cargo transported till date is around 161 tons. Aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 1,12,178 km.
Mission Lifeline UDAN continues!
Since its inception on 26th March, Mission Lifeline UDAN has transported 76T of vital medical equipment to various corners of the country with the help of 85 flights, including 62 flights by @airindiain & @allianceair and 15 flights by @IAF_MCC. pic.twitter.com/LqcPjrwuNm
MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) April 2, 2020
On the international front, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India have been working closely with China to establish a cargo air-bridge between the two countries for the transfer of critical medical supplies. The first cargo flight between India and China was operated by Air India on April 4, carrying 21 tons of critical medical supplies from China.
The urgent demand for medical equipment to fight coronavirus has kept the cargo crew busy while domestic and international passenger flights are banned till April 14 to check the spread of Covid-19. The only passenger flights that have departed from Indian airports are special relief flights to carry stranded foreigners abroad.
Special focus has been on the North East Region (NER), island territories and the hill states. MoCA, Air India and IAF have collaborated closely for last-mile deliveries to Ladakh, Dimapur, Imphal, Guwahati and Port Blair, reads the press communiqué.
The bulk of the cargo planes have carried both light-weight and voluminous products like masks, gloves and other consumables, that require more space on the aircraft per ton.
The lifeline Udan cargo includes Covid-19 related reagents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, gloves and other accessories required by corona warriors across the country.
The ministry has granted special permission to store cargo in the passenger seating area and overhead cabins, with due precautions. The Lifeline Udan flights are being operated despite significant logistical challenges in road transportation of cargo to and from airports; production bottlenecks and in the movement of aviation personnel.
The ministry is also regularly updating public information related to Lifeline Udan flights on the Lifeline Udan website. A portal for coordinating Lifeline Udan flights was developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) and MoCA.
Apart from the government-owned carriers, domestic cargo operators SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are also operating cargo flights on a commercial basis.
Spicejet operated 166 cargo flights from March 24 to April 4, covering a distance of 2,23,241 km and carrying 1,327 tons of cargo. Of these, 46 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 52 domestic cargo flights, covering a distance of 50,086 km and carrying 761 tons of cargo between March 25 and April 4. Indigo has operated 8 cargo flights during April 3-4, covering a distance of 6,103 km and carrying around 3 tons of cargo. This includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government.
Incidentally, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) developed a website for Lifeline Udan flights in a record three days to enable coordination between various agencies. The website allows state governments and airlines to upload their consignment and flights details respectively, in advance. The aviation ministry control room then assigns the cargo consignments to different flights and coordinates with multiple stakeholders till the consignment reaches its destination, the ministry said.
