Three Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777 freighters, carrying a total of 300 tonnes of medical aid from around the world, took off from Doha, Qatar, to Bengaluru, Mumbai, and New Delhi, India, to support the Indian government efforts to cope with the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country. Those flights follow a similar initiative from Germany, a couple of days earlier.
On May 3, 2021, a three-aircraft cargo convoy of Qatar Airways took off for a special flight from Doha to the three most infected cities of India carrying a total of 300 tonnes of free-of-charge medical supplies to ease the burden on local medical workers and provide relief to the impacted communities in the country. The cargo shipment included personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as oxygen canisters and other essential medical items that were donated by individuals and companies around the world in addition to existing cargo orders.
Two days before, on May 1, 2021, an Airbus A350-900 of the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force, which typically flies Germany‘s top government officials, also completed a special cargo shipment to India, flying necessary medical aid to the country. According to Radarbox.com data, the Airbus A350-900 aircraft, registered as 10+03, took off for the flight GAF955 from Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN), Germany to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), India on early May 1, 2021, and reached the final destination after more than 8 and a half hours.
Ein Video des gestrigen Hilfsfluges. Dazu ein Link zu einem Artikel. Wir melden uns wieder nächste Woche, wenn unsere #A400M mit der Sauerstoff Anlage nach fliegen. Bis dahin beobachten wir die Arbeit unserer Kameraden vom @SanDstBw. Klasse Arbeit! https://t.co/HCfAEXHwpu pic.twitter.com/IRN4GS7EWn
— Team_Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) May 2, 2021
The recent German Air Force shipment was the first flight in a series of already scheduled operations, which is expected to be followed by two more shipments carried by two Airbus A400M four-engine turboprop military planes. The government of Germany will fly an oxygen generation system in separate containers on May 5 and May 6, 2021. The country will also send 16 German soldiers who will help the staff of the Indian Red Cross to set the oxygen generation system and instruct in its operation.
In late April 2021, the government of Germany was among the countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and others, that offered India support while its government struggled to cope with the ongoing pandemic. Germany decided to ship a total of five tonnes of medical aid and necessary equipment, including 120 ventilators and the oxygen generation system.
As of May 2, 2021, India recorded more than 368,060 new cases of the COVID-19 virus with a total caseload crossing 19.9 million infected locals, while the death rate rose by more than 3,417 casualties to a total of 219,000.
