Goa Airport continues fight against COVID by ensuring timely transportation of vaccines

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday, May 7, informed that the Airports Authority of India, Goa International Airport and its frontline corona warriors are ready to fight COVID-19 by facilitating the smooth delivery of medical essentials.

In the first phase of the outbreak, Goa International Airport handled eight LifeLine Udan flights, with a total inbound cargo of 2.15 MT and outbound cargo of 3.96 MT, all of which were intended to move critical medical cargo to remote parts of the country despite the nationwide lockdown.

Goa Airport continues transportation of medical essentials

In the months of January and February 2021, the Goa Airport handled three lots of COVID-19 vaccine for the state of Goa and one lot for the neighbouring state of Karnataka, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

In its official statement, the ministry noted, "The race is not stopped and Goa International Airport has further strengthened its mission to tackle the unprecedented situation created by covid-19 by the seamless supply of medical essentials i.e., Covid vaccines, Fabiflu medicines, covid-19 testing kits and other essentials."

During the second phase of the pandemic, as part of inbound cargo, the Goa Airport facilitated the movement of the COVID-19 vaccine to Goa and ensured the timely exit of consignments and handover to health authorities.

AAI, Goa Airport continues fight against COVID-19

The ministry also informed, "Goa Airport so far airlifted 13 boxes of Covid vaccine (Covishield) received from Chennai on April 18, 2021, 9 Boxes of Covid vaccine (Covishield) received from Mumbai on April 30, 2021, and 122 Kg of Covid-19 testing kits received from Delhi on April 23, 2021." 

Along with inbound cargo, Goa Airport has been instrumental in facilitating the delivery of Glenmark's Fabiflu (used for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID infected patients) medicines, as part of the outbound cargo to various parts of the world, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Indore, Nagpur, and others.

It added, "A total of 31,955 Kg of Fabiflu medicines flew from Goa Airport as part of outbound Cargo in the month of April 2021." 

In addition, with the support of the Goa government, Airport authorities are preparing to host a COVID vaccination camp for AAI workers and their dependent family members, as well as airlines, agencies, and other frontline staff employed at the airport. 

(with inputs from ANI)

Picture Credit: @PIB_India/Twitter