Singapore Airlines (SIA) operated a flight on Sunday to Dhaka carrying over 20 tonnes of personal protective equipment including surgical gowns, goggles and nasal oxygen cannula.
The flight SQ446 arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital at 10:40 pm from Singapore, according to a press release issued on Monday.
The SIA and the Temasek Foundation are partnering with the World Food Programme (WFP) to support the global Covid-19 response to help transport essential medical supplies and other health and humanitarian items by air to points of need around the world.
As part of this partnership, SIA operated its second flight to Dhaka.
Providing the logistics backbone for global Covid-19 efforts, WFP operates a network of hubs and passenger and cargo airlinks to ensure a steady flow of supplies and support to the frontlines of the pandemic.
Since these services commenced in May, WFP has managed more than 800 humanitarian flights to 159 countries, with enough cargoes to fill 188 jumbo jets expected to require WFP transport in the coming weeks.
Under this agreement, SIA is making ad-hoc charter flights and freight space in its scheduled services available on a cost-recovery basis, with flight costs being covered by a contribution of up to US$ 6.5 million from the Temasek Foundation.
Senior Vice President Cargo of Singapore Airlines Chin Yau Seng said it is a pleasure for SIA to partner with WFP and Temasek Foundation in this meaningful programme.
“This will allow us to draw on our expertise as a global airfreight provider and use our international network to deliver essential supplies to the points of need and help to make a positive impact on the communities that have been directly affected by Covid-19,” the vice president said.
During this challenging period, the SIA Group has stepped up to support the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SIA Group has facilitated multiple repatriation flights to bring back individuals stranded away from their home countries.
SIA Cargo has also been transporting medical relief supplies and personal protective equipment to places where they are needed and playing its part in keeping supply lines for essential goods open at a critical time.
The group has also donated items such as blankets and helped to supply meals to communities that have been affected by the pandemic in Singapore.