Air Partner in last minute coronavirus medical shipment
14 / 02 / 2020
Charter broker Air Partner helped arrange the last minute transportation of 407 boxes of medical supplies to Wuhan to support medical efforts related to the coronavirus.
The medical supplies were carried on a Boeing 747 that was being utilised to repatriate British and EU nationals from the Chinese city, which is the epicentre of the outbreak.
The boxes were transported from Madrid, where the aircraft is based, in late January.
Air Partner said that it carried out a total of two evacuation flights. The first on January 31 carried more than 125 passengers and there were 200 onboard the second flight.
The outbound leg of the second flight also carried boxes with medical supplies – this time 200 units.
Over the last four weeks, the number of coronavirus related enquiries Air Partner has received across the business has increased. This includes increased Private Jet enquiries, requests for medical equipment cargo flights and emergency evacuations.
The broker said that securing the required overflight and landing permissions was made challenging by the time difference, with the Chinese government operating only within their working hours and the level of diplomatic assistance needed.
Another broker, Air Charter Service, yesterday also reported a spike in demand related to the outbreak.
