Emirates to fly medical aid to India for free

Gulf Today Report

Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates said on Sunday it will fly medical supplies from Dubai to nine cities in India free of charge from this week to help battle a devastating upsurge in the coronavirus.

International aid has poured in for India, where record infection rates have overwhelmed hospitals, depleting medicines, oxygen tanks and other supplies.
Emirates made the announcement at Dubai's International Humanitarian City, already home to a WHO warehouse that's been crucial to the distribution of medical gear worldwide.

A WHO worker on a forklift moved boxes of tents made in Pakistan and rolls of net shades from South Korea preparing for the initial flight planned for Thursday. That will be used to construct field hospitals for India's overwhelmed health care system.

A senior official explains about the activities of the Dubai International Humanitarian City. AP

Emirates will provide free spare capacity to transport supplies from charities based in Dubai, divisional senior vice president Nabil Sultan told reporters, saying the mechanism could later be extended to bring aid from other parts. "We are absolutely committed to helping India," he said.

The supplies will be organised through Dubai's International Humanitarian City, a hub used by many non-governmental organisations to transport aid globally. Supplies would be flown for free until further notice, Sultan said.

"Our relationship with India in particular goes a long way and at times like this, I think it’s absolutely essential that we make sure that essential commodities get to India and to the Indian people,” Sultan said. "This is the time for us to give back.”

A forklift driver loads material for temporary shelters to be sent to India, at the UNHCR warehouses in Dubai on Sunday. AP

The first flight under the new "airbridge" is scheduled to depart for New Delhi on May 13 carrying 12.6 tonnes of multi-purpose tents from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A virus patient receives oxygen in a rickshaw ambulance in New Delhi.

India reported 4,092 new deaths from the virus on Sunday, bringing the total to 242,362. Infections in the last 24 hours rose to 403,738, a near record, increasing the total since the pandemic started to 22.3 million.

Emirates operates 95 weekly flights to nine Indian cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad and Trivandrum. Those flights offer about 5,000 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity.