India’s aviation sector has been operating on war footing transporting critical medical equipment and supplies to various parts of the country during the lockdown. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, under the ‘Lifeline Udan’ initiative, over 407 tonnes of medical air-cargo has been transported within the country using 227 flights till April 13. A release by the MoCA on Tuesday states, “227 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan by Air India, Alliance Air, Indian Air Force (IAF) and private carriers. 138 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. Cargo transported to date is around 407.40 tons.” The release added that a total of 2,20,129 kilometers distance has been covered by the flights under the initiative so far. “Helicopter services including Pawan Hans Ltd have been operating in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, islands and North East region transporting critical medical cargo and patients,” it said. The domestic Lifeline Udan cargo includes COVID-19 related reagents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits, Personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, gloves, other materials of HLL and ICMR, cargo requisitioned by State and Union Territories, and postal packets, etc. The domestic cargo operators include SpiceJet, Indigo and Blue Dart, which are operating flights on a commercial basis. Moreover, in the international sector too “An air-bridge has been established with effect from April 4, for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and COVID-19 relief material.” This has brought in 109 tons of materials from Shanghai and Hong Kong till April 12. Under Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Lifeline Udan, flights are being operated to transport essential medical cargo and supplies to different parts of the country amid lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 which has now been extended till May 3.
