Covid-19: Emirates launches Dubai-India airbridge

Dubai's flag carrier, Emirates, launched an airbridge with India to aid the Republic with essential medical and relief support to help the country fight the steep rise in Covid cases. Through the humanitarian airbridge, Emirates will facilitate the delivery of relief supplies provided by international NGOs to nine cities in India without any freight charges.

The first cargo of 12 tonnes of medical equipment provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the International Humanitarian City (IHC) in Dubai arrived in India from Dubai on Sunday. Apart from Delhi, medical supplies will be dispatched to Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Emirates SkyCargo, the airline's cargo unit, will continue to send in more shipments of relief supplies, authorities said.

Emirates' Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum stated that India and Emirates have a deep relationship since their first flights to India in 1985 and that the airline expects to deliver maximum assistance to the covid victims in India. He added that the service is in coordination with IHC, and 95 weekly flights are charted to nine destinations in India to transport medicines and medical equipment. Giuseppe Saba, CEO of IHC, said that over 1,292 shipments of relief supplies were sent from IHC globally, last year. Emirates has also converted 16 of its passenger carriers to transport cargo to move essential PPE goods and various other medical materials.

Furthermore, several expatriate organizations extended support along with Dubai and Abu Dhabi dispatching their planes and ships that carry oxygen cylinders and medical equipment to India.