Amid Covid -19, Delhi airport has emerged as major hub for distribution of essential medical services and logistics support across India.
According to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Delhi airport is handling around 20-22 cargo flights per day and created a unique 3,800 square meter dedicated distribution facility at the airport in a span of seven days.
According to Delhi airport officials, the facility performs logistics, aggregation and distribution of large consignments of Medical supplies, which are being imported to India. “At this facility the first shipment comprising of 24 MT cargo arrived on 21st April 2020 having 70,000 protective suits,” “The same is getting processed and aggregated at this distribution facility after sanitization of each box. Further, the same will be distributed to various parts of the country,” said an official.
The consignments are scheduled to flow in and get processed through Delhi Airport in the coming days comprising body suits, face mask, hand gloves. “So far over 20 lakh pieces of face masks, 2 Lakh bottles of sanitizers, 70,000 body suits, 1.5 lakh PPE kits and 50,000 other medical equipment have been channelised across India through Delhi Airport,” the airport official added.
Following the guidelines, airport officials said the staff of all the stakeholders like Cargo Terminal Operators (CELEBI and DCSC), ground handling teams, Customs/ CISF officials, agents/ forwarders, etc. are all working tirelessly to effectively manage the cargo operations by following all guidelines of social distancing, temperature check, sanitization of the premises.
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, Chief Executive Officer ( CEO), DIAL said, “We are honoured to be designated as the major hub for import and distribution of medical essentials at this time of crisis by Ministry of Civil Aviation. Even during the lockdown, Delhi Airport is functioning 24X7 to handle the International and domestic cargo movements for essential commodities including healthcare and medical supplies and it continues to stand committed to serve the nation by working closely with all its stakeholders", he added.
