Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates to ship free medical aid to India to help battle COVID

As India continues to reel under the unprecedented second wave of COVID-19, Dubai's long-haul carrier Emirates will begin shipping free medical aid to help the country fight the pandemic, said the airline on Saturday. The offer by Emirates, which has some 95 flights weekly to nine cities, comes as air freight costs have skyrocketed. 

Dubai's Emirates to send free medical aid to India

Emirates made the announcement at Dubai's International Humanitarian City, which is already home to a World Health Organization (WHO) warehouse that's been crucial to the distribution of medical gear worldwide. Since the foundation of the long-haul carrier in 1985, Emirates has flown to India. The airline over time grew its network into flying into nine destinations across the country.

Earlier, the UAE banned inbound passenger flights from India in late April, though cargo flights continued and passenger planes return with their seats now empty. All this comes as air cargo has reached record levels after flights around the world halted when the pandemic first took hold. The International Air Transport Association, an aviation trade organization, said in March it saw the highest levels of demand ever as the world's economy slowly began to pick up. Per pound, costs for airfreight worldwide are up by some 75%, according to data provider WorldACM. 

COVID-19 situation in India

India so far has recorded over 2,22,96,414 positive cases, out of which, 1,83,17,404 have successfully recovered and 2,42,362 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 4,03,738 new cases, 3,86,444 fresh cases and 4.092 deaths have been reported. Currently, the total number of active cases in the country is 37,36,648. 

(Image: AP, Unsplash)