On 31 January, one of Volga-Dnepr’s 12 Antonov An-124-100 registered RA-82044, landed at Billund airport (Denmark) carrying 72 tonnes of COVID-19 test kits. This was the last in a series of six charter flights in collaboration with JAG-UFS based in the UK.
Volga-Dnepr and JAG-UFS are key strategic partners in transporting Covid related products and on this occasion were working on behalf of the Danish government. This sequence of flights further strengthens its existing relationship in the carriage of PPE and medical equipment.
Over 12 million COVID-19 test kits have been carried from Shanghai (China) to Billund (Denmark) during January 2022, with an average load of 72 tonnes per flight. The management and operational teams of both companies worked in close cooperation both in China and Europe to ensure these flights arrived safely and timely.
During this sequence of flights, on 29 January, Volga-Dnepr had 2 An-124 aircraft (RA-82046 and RA-82043) in Billund airspace simultaneously. The latter aircraft arrived 5 minutes after the departure of RA-82046 which is a testament to the expedient ground handling and aircraft turnaround by Billund Airport, which remarkably also managed to offload the last flight containing 650 m³ of cargo in 1 hour 45 minutes instead of the normal 6-10 hours for bulk palletised cargo. Martin Bodker Andersen of Spedman Logistics was pivotal in ensuring local logistic activities faultless in order to comply with strict and demanding delivery schedules.
Ekaterina Andreeva, Commercial Director of Volga-Dnepr Airlines, highlights: “Since 2022 we keep receiving requests for the transportation of test kits as the demand for COVID-19 tests augments amid the spread of the omicron variant. We would like to thank Gary Wilcox (CEO) at JAG-UFS for once again entrusting us to deliver such critical cargo”.
Throughout 2021 Volga-Dnepr Group continued supporting its customers with life-saving logistics solutions and delivered over 43,000 tonnes of dedicated healthcare and humanitarian cargo worldwide aboard its versatile fleet of freighters. In 2022 and beyond the Group is aimed at expansion of its scope of services, covering integrated logistics solutions throughout the whole supply chain. This decision will enable the company to spin life-saving logistics across the globe using its extensive experience and competence.
