IAF deploys 5 aircraft to aid oxygen distribution

Pitching in to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed five types of aircraft to ferry essential items to different parts of the country, and has carried out several sorties to airlift oxygen containers, cylinders, essential medicines and equipment required for setting up and sustaining Covid hospitals and facilities to deal with the surge in infections, the defence ministry said on Friday. Aircraft have also been kept on standby to cater to additional workload.

“The IAF transport aircraft and helicopters have been pressed into service for carrying out these tasks. These include C-17, C-130J, IL-76, An-32 and Avro. Chinook and Mi-17 helicopters are on standby,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that tasks undertaken so far include airlift of doctors and nursing staff from Kochi, Mumbai, Vizag and Bangalore to Delhi. Transport planes and choppers are on standby for being deployed at short notice, it said. IAF on Thursday airlifted three oxygen containers from Hindon to Panagarh in West Bengal, where these will be filled up and supplied to different centres for Covid relief. It also moved oxygen containers from Begumpet to Bhubaneswar on Friday. Once filled, the containers will be carried to Covid centres by rail or road.

“The C-17 and IL-76 aircraft of IAF have started airlifting big empty oxygen tankers from their place of use to the filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of much needed oxygen. In addition to this, the aircraft have transported large quantity of load comprising biosafety cabinets and autoclave machines for setting up of an additional Covid facility at Leh,” the statement said.