Spicejet transforms its passenger aircraft into cargo carrier to fly essential Covid-19 supplies

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Spicejet transforms its passenger aircraft into cargo carrier to fly essential Covid-19 supplies
  • Spicejet turned one of its passenger aircrafts into a cargo carrier to ferry essential supplies for Covid-19.
  • The flight carried essentials and medical equipment from Delhi to Chennai, with items loaded onto passenger seats.
  • Spicejet in March had initiated a 10-30% pay cut for all its employees across top and mid rung levels.
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In a surprising move, domestic carrier Spicejet turned one of its passenger aircrafts into a cargo carrier to transport essential Covid-19 supplies.

The flight carried essentials and medical equipment from Delhi to Chennai, with items loaded on the passenger seats. It’s the first time a commercial passenger flight has carried cargo in India.


As domestic flights are grounded during lockdown, Indian aviation companies slipped deeper into trouble. Spicejet in March initiated a 10-30% pay cut for all its employees across top and mid rung levels because of the impact of covid-19 on its operations.

"Unfortunately, due to the lockdown, SpiceJet has been forced to announce ‘leave without pay’ for employees during 25 March - 31 March, 2020 – the period of the lockdown when all passenger flights were suspended," the airline said in the statement.

However, even during lockdown cargo carriers are allowed to fly to ensure essential supplies reach those intended.
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With the need to transport equipment and supplies at its peak, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had earlier launched “Lifeline Udan”. Under this initiative, flights transported the movement of essential and medical supplies across the nation.

“132 flights have traversed 1,21,878 kms to transport nearly 185 tonnes of critical medical cargo,” said Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, on on April 6.



See Also:
India’s Covid-19 cases rise to 4861 and Maharashtra is the worst hit with 748 active cases
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