SIA operates special flights to Manila for World Food Programme, global Covid-19 response
SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) and the Temasek Foundation are partnering with the World Food Programme (WFP) to support the global Covid-19 response to help transport essential medical supplies and other health and humanitarian items by air to points of need around the world.
As part of this partnership, six special cargo flights carrying essential medical supplies have since been arranged on scheduled services to Manila. Providing the logistics backbone for global Covid-19 efforts, WFP operates a network of hubs and passenger and cargo airlinks to ensure a steady flow of supplies and support to the frontlines of the pandemic. Since these services commenced in May, WFP has managed more than 800 humanitarian flights to 159 countries, with enough cargo to fill 188 jumbo jets expected to require WFP transport in the coming weeks.
“While demand for WFP Common Services grows every week, resources are stretched incredibly thin and additional support is urgently needed,” said WFP’S Covid-19 Corporate Response Director Amer Daoudi when the partnership was launched in early August. “We are very grateful to Singapore Airlines and Temasek Foundation for stepping up so we can continue delivering life-saving supplies to those who need them most.”
Under this agreement, SIA is making ad-hoc charter flights and freight space in its scheduled services available on a cost-recovery basis, with flight costs being covered by a contribution of up to $6.5 million from the Temasek Foundation. Chin Yau Seng, senior vice president for cargo for Singapore Airlines, said: “It is a pleasure for SIA to partner with the WFP and Temasek Foundation in this meaningful program. This will allow us to draw on our expertise as a global airfreight provider, and use our international network to deliver essential supplies to the points of need and help to make a positive impact on the communities that have been directly affected by Covid-19.”
Ng Boon Heong, CEO of Temasek Foundation, said: “We are pleased to partner with the WFP and SIA to help make these flights possible. Together, we will be more capable in combating the Covid-19 global pandemic when we enable synergistic collaborations in the international community.”
During this challenging period, the SIA Group has stepped up to support the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The SIA Group has facilitated multiple repatriation flights to bring back individuals stranded away from their home countries. SIA Cargo has also been transporting medical relief supplies and personal protective equipment to places where they are needed, and playing its part in keeping supply lines for essential goods open at a critical time. The group has also donated items, such as blankets and helped to supply meals to communities that have been affected by the pandemic in Singapore.