Project Airbridge, a partnership between UPS and large U.S. healthcare distributors including Cardinal Health and others, and the U.S. federal government has been formed to help fight COVID-19.
“FEMA is working with these companies to launch Project Airbridge to expedite the movement of critical supplies from other countries to the United States,” said President Trump on March 29 at a news conference announcing the project. FEMA is working with the White House Coronavirus Taskforce.
UPS is providing air freight brokerage services on third-party aircraft, as well as on UPS-owned aircraft. Goods will be distributed at the direction of FEMA to hospitals and COVID-19 hot spots throughout the country.
Keeping track of the efforts of this project the Cargo Arline Association (CAA) says that Atlas Air, FedEx, and UPS have several upcoming charters to multiple destinations in the U.S. in support of Project Airbridge
The CAA is also providing updates including the following.
- According to FEMA, 72 flights are scheduled over the next three weeks. In the last week, air carriers have delivered 83.5 million gloves, 4.6 million surgical masks, 1.2 million surgical gowns and 300,000 N95 respirators from Asia, Central America and Mexico. Flights have landed and are destined for Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Columbus, Ohio (Rickenbacker International Airport), and Louisville, Kentucky.
- Materials are deconsolidated at local warehouses and delivered around the country by large health care distributors such as Cardinal Health and McKesson Corp. UPS announced they will charter 25 flights over the next two weeks in support of Project Airbridge. These Project Airbridge flights will deliver more than three million pounds of materials including masks, surgical gowns, gloves, medical swabs and thermometers in high-demand within the U.S. healthcare system.
- FedEx announced in coordination with DuPont, two initial shipments were transported from Vietnam to Texas carrying more than 450,000 Tyvek protective suits. Over the next period, more than 500,000 suits will be shipped each week. FedEx will also operate several flights this week carrying PPE for Medline Industries Inc. bringing 7 million face masks, additional PPE and anesthesia supplies to the U.S.
