New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has said that under Lifeline Udan, 392 flights have been operated by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF, and private carriers, transporting 736 tonnes of medical supplies across the country.
229 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air alone. “Aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 3,89,100 km,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
‘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.
The domestic Lifeline Udan cargo includes COVID-19 related reagents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits, Personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, gloves, etc.
Besides, SpiceJet, Blue Dart, and Indigo are also operating cargo flights on a commercial basis.
The Spicejet has operated 608 cargo flights from March 24 to April 26 carrying 4,428 tons of cargo. Out of these, 216 were international cargo flights, the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
Similarly, Blue Dart operated 211 cargo flights carrying 3,481tons of cargo from March 25 to April 26. Out of these, 10 were international cargo flights, it said.
Additionally, Indigo has operated 50 cargo flights during 3-26 April carrying around 185tons of cargo while Vistara has operated 12 cargo flights during 19-26 April carrying around 82 tons of cargo.
The Lifeline Udan flights connect hubs to airports at Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Agartala, Aizwal, Dimapur, Imphal, Coimbatore, Thiruvanthapuram, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Ranchi, Port Blair and Goa.
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.
In the International Sector- a cargo air-bridge was established with East Asia for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and COVID-19 relief material. The medical cargo brought in by Air India to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Guangzhou this month on several dates. Total 593 tonnes of cargo was transported to these cities.
Apart from that, Blue Dart has uplifted around 109 tons of medical supplies from Guangzhou starting 14 April upto 26th April 2020. The Indian logistics company has also uplifted 5 tons of medical cargo from Shanghai on 25th April 2020. Spicejet has also uplifted 140 tons of medical supplies from Shanghai upto 26th April 2020 and 13 tons medical supplies from Hong Kong and Singapore upto 25th April 2020, MOCA said in a statement.
