MUMBAI: Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific on Friday said it has airlifted more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian and medical supplies for India as the country battles against the deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to an acute shortage of medical oxygen, among others.
These include shipments of specialised oxygen generators, oxygen concentrators and ventilators to Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, Cathay Pacific said in a statement.
In addition, there has been a sharp increase in volumes for shipments of oxygen, surgical masks, sanitisers, personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and vaccines over the past few weeks, it said.
Even as the passenger flights between Hong Kong and India remain suspended, in the past few weeks Cathay Pacific Cargo has been operating freighters and cargo-only passenger flights, delivering to date more than 100 tonnes of much-needed humanitarian and medical supplies to some of India's major cities, the company said in a statement.
“The Cathay Pacific Group has a long-standing relationship with India. We are pained to see the current impact of the pandemic in the country and understand the criticality of shipping essential medical supplies” said Mark Sutch, Regional General Manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa at Cathay Pacific Airways.
With its dedicated Boeing 747 freighter fleet, Cathay Pacific Cargo stands ready to support relief efforts with its capacity to deliver large humanitarian cargo shipments where they are needed and whenever they are required, it said.
“With an expansive global network, freighter operations as well as our ability to deploy ad-hoc cargo-only-passenger flights, we have been able to transport essential medical equipment to the Indian communities,” said Sutch.
Recently, Cathay Pacific has also seen a sharp increase in demand from the Americas and the Chinese mainland for space for humanitarian aid shipments to India, he said, adding, “We are working closely with the Indian authorities to deploy additional capacity to accommodate these essential shipments.”