Ostend-Bruges Airport plays an important role in supplying relief goods to India to fight the coronavirus there. Last Friday, a flight of the Belgian government (via the B-FAST team) with relief supplies departed from Ostend airport to the Indian capital New Dehli. Onboard the aircraft were 9,000 bottles of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug used in the treatment of Covid-19.
Four large oxygen tanks
India has been severely affected and has a dire shortage of oxygen and containers to store oxygen. Yesterday, Wednesday, May 5, a second flight with relief supplies departed from our airport to Jamnagar in western India. This time on board: four large oxygen tanks that together weigh more than 26 tonnes. The Indian army flew a Boeing C-17 Globemaster especially for this purpose to transport the oxygen containers.
The oxygen tanks were transported from the port of Antwerp to Ostend airport, where its handling agents and airport staff did everything in their power to get the aircraft ready for departure as quickly as possible. The oxygen tanks were loaded into the aircraft using a crane, after which the aircraft could depart for India again within 3 hours.
“Perfect solution for urgent cargo flights”
CEO Ostend-Bruges Airport Eric Dumas said: “Our airport is proud that in this way we can play a role in the fight against Covid-19. The oxygen tanks and medicines must get to India as quickly as possible. Our airport can offer the perfect solution for this. Our airport is very flexible.”
He added: “Ostend Airport is operational 24/7 and does not work with time slots, which means that aircraft can leave immediately when they are ready. In addition, as an airport, we have already proven on several occasions that we have excellent expertise in the field of exceptional cargo.”
