Leading private sector air carrier SpiceJet on Tuesday operated its first freighter flight to Myanmar, carrying medical supplies.
On its return leg, the aircraft will carry medical equipment from Myanmar to Delhi.
The airline also operated its maiden cargo-on-seat international flight from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi carrying 15 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and ensuring that the supply chain for our farmers remains intact.
The airline deployed its Boeing 737 aircraft for both, the cargo-on-seat and freighter flight to Abu Dhabi and Myanmar, respectively.
SpiceJet Chairman & Managing Director Ajay Singh said, “We have been continuously expanding our cargo network on both domestic and international routes carrying not just COVID-19 related medical supplies but also ensuring that vital export lines from India to other countries remain intact. We operated our first freighter flight to Myanmar today carrying medical supplies to and from Yangon.”
“Our cargo-on-seat operations have significantly increased from April 7 when we operated India’s first cargo-on-seat flight to operating our first international cargo-on-seat flight to Abu Dhabi today,” he added.
SpiceJet has operated more than 430 cargo flights, including 135 international, since the lockdown began carrying over 3500 tons of cargo.
It has operated special cargo flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, and Kabul carrying vital supplies.
On April 15, the private carrier has operated its first-ever cargo flight to China carrying COVID-19 related essential medical supplies from Shanghai to Hyderabad and also operated a freighter carrying farm produce from West Bengal to Colombo on the same day.
On April 10, the airline operated its first-ever cargo flight from Hyderabad to Ho Chi Minh City carrying medical supplies while another cargo freighter brought in critical medical equipment to Bengaluru from Singapore.
The airline operated its first cargo freighter on the Chennai-Singapore-Chennai route on April 9 to bring critical medical equipment and devices to India.
SpiceJet operated the country’s first cargo-on-seat flight on April 7 carrying vital supplies in passenger cabin & belly space from Delhi to Chennai. Since then, the airline has been regularly deploying its B737 and Q400 passenger aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.
SpiceXpress, SpiceJet’s dedicated cargo arm, has been regularly transporting surgical supplies, sanitizers, face masks, etc. and providing doorstep deliveries of essential supplies, medicines and medical equipment to various cities in India.
SpiceJet has helped transport more than 4000 Coronavirus Rapid Test Kits to Kozhikode from Mumbai beginning April 2.
On March 29, SpiceJet operated a special flight between Delhi and Jodhpur to facilitate transportation of 136 Indian passengers evacuated from COVID-19 hit Iran to a Government quarantine facility in the city.
It has operated a special charter flight on March 27 from Delhi to Coimbatore on Government’s request and transported a Hazmat suit that is helping local authorities replicate and start local manufacturing. The airline helped transport an emergency consignment of IR Thermometers, required to detect COVID-19, to Kolkata from Hong Kong on March 26.
The airline has also helped Indian farmers maintain continuity of their supply chains in addition to operating dedicated services from Chennai & Vishakhapatnam to Surat & Kolkata.