New Delhi: 430 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and private carriers. 252 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. Cargo transported till date is around 795.86 tons. Aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 4,21,790 km.‘Lifeline Udan’ flights are being operated by MoCA to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19.
Helicopter services including Pawan Hans Ltd have been operating in J&K, Ladakh, Islands and North East region transporting critical medical cargo and patients. Pawan Hans till 2 May 2020 have carried 2.27 tons of cargo covering a distance of 7,729 kms. Special focus has been on the North East Region, island territories and the hill states. Air India and IAF collaborated primarily for J&K, Ladakh, North-East and other island regions. .
Domestic Cargo Operators SpiceJet, Blue Dart, Indigo and Vistara are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis.Spicejet operated 760 cargo flights during 24 March to 2 May 2020 covering a distance of 13,09,310 km and carrying 5,519 tons of cargo. Out of these, 279 were international cargo flights.Blue Dart operated 253 cargo flights covering a distance of 2,76,768 km and carrying 4,364 tons of cargo during 25 March to 2 May 2020. Out of these, 12 were international cargo flights. Indigo has operated 87 cargo flights during 3 April to 2 May 2020 covering a distance of 1,43,604 km and carrying around 423 tons of cargo and including 32 international flights. This also includes medical supplies carried free of cost for the government. Vistara has operated 20 cargo flights during 19 April to 2 May 2020 covering a distance of 28,590 km and carrying around 139 tons of cargo.
A cargo air-bridge was established with East Asia for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and Covid-19 relief material. 899 tons of medical cargo was brought in by Air India from East Asia.
In addition to the above, Blue Dart has uplifted around 114 tons of medical supplies from Guangzhou and Shanghai starting 14 April upto 2 May 2020.Spicejet has also uplifted 204 tons of medical supplies from Shanghai and Guangzhou upto 2 May 2020 and 16 tons medical supplies from Hong Kong and Singapore upto 2 May 2020.
