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Air cargo carrier transported more than 220 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines on over 150 flights to over 50 destinations
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Over one year, Emirates SkyCargo had operated more than 27,800 flights and transported over 100,000 tonnes of essential commodities.
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In January 2021, Emirates SkyCargo joined hands with other Dubai-based entities to form the Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance
In the runup to World Health Day (7 April), Emirates SkyCargo has become the first airline cargo carrier in the world to have transported more than 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines on its flights. The carrier also transported more than 100 tonnes of syringes across the world to support the delivery of vaccines.
Since the start of international distribution late last year, Emirates SkyCargo has transported over 220 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines, equivalent to more than 50 million doses, on more than 150 flights from manufacturing locations to 50 destinations on its network through Dubai. Overall, the carrier has transported six different kinds of COVD-19 vaccines.
“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,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo.
The carrier was one of the first in the world to deploy passenger aircraft for cargo only flights in order to transport PPE, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and food. Over one year, Emirates SkyCargo had operated more than 27,800 flights and transported over 100,000 tonnes of essential commodities.
As early as October 2020, Emirates SkyCargo set up an EU GDP certified dedicated airside hub for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at its hub in Dubai.
With its infrastructure and extensive storage capacity, Emirates SkyCargo positioned itself to fly in large quantities of COVID-19 vaccines from manufacturing locations, store the vaccines in Dubai and then regularly replenish vaccine supplies to developing nations with limited cold chain infrastructure through its cargo flights.
In January 2021, Emirates SkyCargo joined hands with Dubai-based entities, DP World, International Humanitarian City, and Dubai Airports to form the Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance to harness strategic strengths of Dubai as a major global distribution hub for COVID-19 vaccines. In February 2021, Emirates SkyCargo signed an MoU with UNICEF to prioritize transportation of COVID-19 vaccines in support of the COVAX facility which is aimed at equitable global distribution of vaccines.
With its fleet of modern and efficient all wide-body aircraft and a network that currently spans more than 130 destinations across six continents, combined with the strategic geographic location of its state-of-the-art GDP certified Dubai hub, Emirates SkyCargo is a key global player in the secure and rapid global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
