Budget carrier SpiceJet is operating its first-ever cargo freighter flight to China today to ferry COVID-19 related essential medical supplies from Shanghai to Hyderabad.
The Boeing 737 flight left from Kolkata airport at 8.25 am today and landed at 3.30 pm (local time) in Shanghai, SpiceJet said.
It then departed from Shanghai at 5 pm (local time) and arrived at Kolkata airport at 8.10 pm. After it leaves from Kolkata at 9 pm, the flight is expected to land in Hyderabad at 11.10 pm today.
SpiceJet said it is also operating a freighter flight to Colombo carrying farm produce from West Bengal and another cargo flight to Singapore today.
“Domestic cargo operations have been boosted by our passenger aircraft fleet where both our B737 and Q400 aircraft have been deployed to operate cargo-on-seat flights,” SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.
“We have put our resources to maximum use transporting over 2,700 tonnes of cargo on more than 300 flights since the nation-wide lockdown began,” Singh added.
On April 10, SpiceJet operated its first-ever cargo flight from Hyderabad to Ho Chi Minh City carrying medical supplies while another cargo freighter brought in critical medical equipments to Bengaluru from Singapore. On April 9, the airline operated its first cargo freighter on the Chennai-Singapore-Chennai route to bring critical medical equipment and devices to India.
Earlier on April 7, SpiceJet created history by operating the country’s first cargo-on-seat flight carrying 11 tonnes of vital supplies in the passenger cabin. Since then, the airline has been regularly using its Boeing 737 aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.
On April 3, SpiceJet has operated SG 7005 and SG 7051 flights carrying essential supplies from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi and Surat to Chennai. On April 2, SpiceJet transported 1000 Coronavirus Rapid Test Kits to Kozhikode from Pune.
On March 27, the airline carried hazmat suits to Coimbatore from Delhi to help local authorities replicate and start local manufacturing. On March 26, SpiceJet helped transport an emergency consignment of IR Thermometers, required to detect COVID-19, to Kolkata from Hong Kong.
SpiceJet has also been operating special cargo flights to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and other countries taking fresh fruits and vegetables and helping Indian farmers maintain continuity of their supply chains.
SpiceJet’s dedicated cargo arm, SpiceXpress has been regularly transporting surgical supplies, sanitisers, face masks, among others and providing doorstep deliveries of essential supplies, medicines and medical equipment in Bengaluru, Patna, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Kochi, Guwahati, Jammu, and Lucknow, among other cities.
With utilising SpiceXpress fleet, SpiceJet has transported over 4000 Coronavirus Rapid Test Kits to Kozhikode from Mumbai beginning April 2.
