When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020, demand for cargo flights skyrocketed as countries clamoured to import vital PPE.
Transporting Covid-19 PPE in passenger aircraft
When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020, demand for cargo flights skyrocketed as countries clamoured to import vital PPE.
But with freighter capacity limited due to scheduled services being suspended amidst border closures and travel restrictions, an alternative solution was needed quickly.
Our Solution
As the situation worsened, Air Charter Service began chartering passenger aircraft, via our dedicated Aircraft Leasing team, to fly PPE around the world, loading the cargo into the empty cabin and belly of each aircraft. After a successful first flight transporting masks, gloves and protective clothing from Shanghai to Bratislava in a Boeing B787-9, in the months that followed we continued to use passenger planes to move a range of cargo including PPE, COVID-19 test kits, automotive equipment and machinery. This stopgap solution quickly became an everyday occurrence in the industry, with 24 airlines operating over 175,000 cargo-only flights using passenger aircraft and 70 passenger aircraft being permanently converted for cargo use.
The Finer Details
Unrivalled Expertise: As the pandemic wore on, we developed creative ways to maximise volume onboard the passenger aircraft, such as removing seats and securing boxes to the seat tracks on the floor using cargo nets.
