Union Civil Aviation Ministry has said that more than 518 lifeline Udan flights transported 875 tonnes of life saving medical supplies across almost 4,92,000 Km since the lockdown period from March 26.  Union Civil Aviation Minister Shri. Hardeep Singh Puri had conveyed his appreciation for the corona warriors operating and facilitating Lifeline Udan flights for transporting essential medical cargo.

Covid-19 induced lockdown in our country had affected transportation of goods especially medicines to different regions. Road transport and even rail transport had its own limitations. In such  an emergency,  lifeline udan flight services did its best to quickly transport medicines and save lives. The cargo flights are not just transporting medicines but easily perishable vegetables to even foreign nations. This had really helped exporters as well. The air cargo items included medicines Personal protective equipment -PPEs, face masks, gloves and other essential items which had to be reached immediately . A private airline too operated freight aircrafts to transport medical kits along with other commercial cargo between Chennai and Surat. Safety masks and other Covid-19 related materials were transported quickly by air.

Shri A Muruganantham Director of Pharmaceutical distribution company stressed the importance of uninterrupted medical supplies in the lockdown period. Lifeline Udan is a great help as transporting by road is very difficult with restrictions.

Apart from medical supplies perishable items were transported by cargo flights during the lockdown period. From Tiruchirapalli airport, 11 tonnes of vegetables including brinjal, ladies finger, plantains worth almost Rs 8 lakhs was exported to Singapore in a private cargo flight. Air India express exported 3.3 MT of assorted vegetables from Tiruchirapalli airport to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. This was the first time national carrier uplifted fresh farm products from Trichy. During the lockdown period 33 tonnes of cargo including vegetables and flowers were exported from Tamil Nadu  airports like Coimbatore  to Sharjah.  Medical supplies were also sent to Mumbai, Lucknow by Indian Air Force, Alliance Air and other private airlines from Tamil Nadu.

Indian air Force, Air India, Spice Jet, Alliance Air, Indigo, Blue Dart air cargo flights and Pawan Hans helicopters were used to transport essential items especially to north eastern states. Lifeline Udan, a remarkable initiative of Union government ,  indeed brings a ray of hope for those who are in need of emergency medical supplies and other items.

 

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