Additional flights support Project Airbridge pandemic relief efforts
UPS recently announced it added over 200 company-owned and chartered air freighter flights in April to support FEMA’s Project Airbridge and other healthcare-related missions.
Project Airbridge is a public-private partnership to get vital and life-saving equipment to where it is needed with greater speed. These additional flights serve to meet the soaring demand to ship test kits, personal protective equipment and other supplies necessary for the global response effort.
“With our scale and flexible global network, we are in a unique position to handle Coronavirus response shipments for FEMA and healthcare customers,” remarked David Abney, UPS Chairman and CEO.
The vast majority of the additional flights are carrying products from Asia to the U.S. and Europe. UPS is shipping personal protective equipment, ventilators, emergency room monitoring equipment, test kits and other supplies. The company has the capabilities to transport specialized products, such as temperature sensitive compounds, a press communiqué added.
A recent flight for Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, a major Indian pharmaceutical company, originated in Hyderabad, India and contained 30 tons of temperature-sensitive compounds to be shipped to the U.S. on an urgent basis.
To maintain product effectiveness, the entire shipment had to be maintained at +15°C to +25°C. The product was moved within the UPS network through the Cologne, Germany air hub, then to the UPS Worldport in Kentucky, before reaching its final destination on time and as committed.
