Singapore Airlines delivers essentials medical supplies to Dhaka to aid COVID-19 response

Singapore Airlines (SIA) operated its second flight to Dhaka carrying over 20 Tonnes of PPE including surgical gowns, goggles and nasal oxygen cannula to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline and the Temasek Foundation are partnering with the World Food Programme or WFP to support the global COVID-19 response by transporting essential medical supplies and other health and humanitarian items worldwide, SIA said in a statement.

WFP operates a network of hubs and passenger and cargo airlinks, providing the logistics backbone for global COVID-19 efforts to ensure a steady flow of supplies and support to the frontlines during the pandemic. It has managed more than 800 humanitarian flights to 159 countries with enough cargo to fill 188 jumbo jets since these services commenced in May.

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 $6.5 million from the Temasek Foundation.

“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 areas where needed and help to make a positive impact on the communities that have been directly affected by COVID-19,” said Chin Yau Seng, the airlines' senior vice president of cargo.

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 homelands.

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.