LONDON – Emirates SkyCargo has become the first carrier to deliver over 50 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This marks a considerable achievement, not just for the airline industry, but for the whole distribution of the vaccine roll-out.
Commenting on the news was Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Divisional SVP of Cargo:
“Emirates SkyCargo is proud to have reached the 50 million COVID-19 vaccine delivery milestone just ahead of World Health Day. As a socially responsible global air cargo carrier, our actions over the last year have always been directed at helping communities across the world, and especially those in developing nations, recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic. We have been leading the global air cargo industry’s efforts and working with our partner organizations in Dubai to rapidly distribute COVID-19 vaccines through Dubai to the rest of the world.”
Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Divisional SVP of Cargo
The breakdown of the 50 million doses of the vaccine delivered covered over 50 destinations across 150 flights.
220 tonnes of the vaccine was delivered, with 100 tonnes worth of syringes also being distributed.
The 50 million doses was across six different types of the vaccine which have been produced by different companies.
The cargo wing of Emirates has remained very flexible throughout the pandemic, having been one of the first carriers in the world to deploy passenger aircraft for cargo-only flights.
On top of this, the airline has delivered more than 100,000 tonnes of essential commodities across 27,800 flights that have taken place in one year.
Back in October 2020 as well, the airline set up “an EU GDP certified dedicated airside hub for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at its hub in Dubai” (Orban, 2021).
Overall, this is a considerable feat for the airline and will continue to operate more of these flights, even if we do see the light at the end of the tunnel with the pandemic.
