British Airways Sends Vital Oxygen Supplies To India On A Special Flight

British Airways has flown a Boeing 777-200 aircraft loaded with emergency aid to Delhi to support the Indian government as the country continues to battle rising coronavirus cases amid dwindling oxygen supplies.

About 1,349 items of aid were transported on an aircraft specially chartered by British Airways and supported by volunteers from the airline to ensure life-saving supplies reached India urgently.

British Airways, supported by its sister company IAG Cargo, has flown 27 tonnes of medical aid to Delhi, which arrived on Thursday (6 May).

The airline commissioned a special project team to organise the flight (BA257F) for the oxygen transportation.

The aircraft was loaded with more than a thousand items from the High Commission of India and charities including Khalsa Aid International, and the largest Hindu Temple outside of India, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London.

The load includes hundreds of urgent life-saving oxygen cylinders and shipments of oxygen concentrators, respirators and blood oxygen saturation monitors.

British Airways is also donating care packages for families in need.

While IAG Cargo and British Airways have maintained a vital air link between Britain and India throughout the pandemic, sending aid on scheduled flights, this air lift is a special charter, fully funded by the two companies.

British Airways works in partnership with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which is organising the UK’s humanitarian response.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee, said: “The DEC brings together 14 leading UK aid charities to respond quickly and effectively to disasters, with the fantastic support of partners in the corporate sector, including British Airways. We are hugely grateful to British Airways for springing into action to support our emergency appeals, enabling us to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to people in India and elsewhere across the world when disaster strikes."

The airline staff members have also raised several thousand pounds for the DEC’s appeal through internal online donations.

DEC-funded aid delivery will include medical supplies, treatment facilities and logistics assistance to support India’s health system, as well as helping vulnerable families protect themselves from the virus with water, soap, handwashing stations and information.