Caribbean Airlines assists region in COVID-19 fight

September 11, 2020 in Regional

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has joined the fight against the spread of COVID-19 on a regional scale.

Caribbean Airlines Cargo recently collaborated with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to distribute over 2,000 boxes of medical supplies to help 16 Caribbean countries combat COVID-19. The supplies included personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 test kits donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the company said in a media release yesterday.

Effective solutions

“With the continued closure of several countries’ borders, the world is currently experiencing limited connectivity and cargo capacity. Despite this challenge, the airline developed effective solutions in order to move the supplies to each territory at a subsidised cost,” the statement added.

Caribbean Airlines Cargo transported the supplies to Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean utilising its freighter and passenger aircraft. The airline also collaborated with interline partners to ship the supplies to destinations where it is not currently offering scheduled flights such as: British Virgin Islands, St Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, Belize and Suriname.

Essential supplies

Caribbean Airlines Cargo continued its freighter operations throughout the pandemic and introduced a cargo charter service to minimise disruption to the supply chain and deliver essential supplies during this critical time.

Caribbean Airlines Cargo has operated several charters since including the shipment of supplies from Guyana to students in Cuba, the transportation of dairy cows between Miami and Barbados and a number of flights where perishable goods and chicks were shipped between Guyana, Toronto and Trinidad.