KOCHI: Around 35 lakh pairs of sterile surgical gloves were airlifted from the Cochin International Airport to Serbia on Monday, to bolster the east European country’s fight against Covid-19. The gloves — weighing 90,385 kg and packed in 7,091 carton boxes — were sent to Belgrade on the Boeing 747 cargo freighter aircraft of TransAVIAexport Airlines. The gloves were exported by St Mary’s Rubbers(P) Ltd, Kanjirapilly, said a release issued by the airport.
In the wake of the 21- day lockdown, the Cochin Customs gave its clearance and the cargo department of CIAL made it ready for the flight on a war footing. The airport said a another such airlift is planned on Tuesday. India lifted the ban on export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits on February 9 and again imposed it on March 19, excluding surgical gloves and some other items. Now, the export ban is applicable only for surgical masks, especially N95 types.