An Antonov AN-124-100 aircraft carried 70 tons of oxygen to help patients who are infected with coronavirus in India, in cooperation with Flywell Aviation and Delhivery. The aircraft flew from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Delhi, India. The trip from Tel Aviv to Delhi included a technical stop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for refueling.
The 2.500 oxygen concentrators were loaded aboard one of Antonov Airlines' seven AN-124-100 aircraft, which can carry a payload of up to 150 tons. "Antonov Airlines is well prepared when it comes to transporting emergency medical equipment in a short amount of time, thanks to many years of working on humanitarian aid programs and disaster relief projects." said Andriy Blagovisniy, Commercial Director of Antonov Airlines.
Oxygen concentrators work by collecting and filtering ambient air to produce up to 95% pure oxygen, which can then be administered to patients through nasal cannulas or oxygen masks. The number of coronavirus cases in India has reached its highest level so far and there is a severe lack of oxygen for patients.
Antonov Airlines transported 70 tons of medical equipment from Israel to India.
"This flight was successfully completed during this unprecedented period, in cooperation with Antonov Airlines", said Anil Bal, General Manager of Flywell Aviation Pvt. Ltd. „Flywell, through its offices in India, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Romania, provides air transport of essential items such as oxygen concentrators and cryogenic containers for the transport of oxygen between cities in India. "
Ajh Pai, COO of Delhivery, said that “in these unprecedented times, Delhivery is expanding its full suite of logistics services to bring urgent and essential medical tasks to support the critical situation on the ground in India.
"We have received the first batch of 2500 oxygen concentrators from Israel, and our efforts are supported by Antonov Airlines and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help deliver them to administrators, hospitals and charities across the country in the coming weeks."