As part of its mission to mobilize the aviation community in times of crisis, Airlink partnered with United Airlines and Flexport on Thursday, April 16 to transport free-of-charge 50,000 N95 masks needed to combat the spread of COVID-19. The supplies were transported from San Francisco (SFO) to Newark (EWR) for MedShare, which is providing the personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers in New York and New Jersey.
“Partnerships are instrumental to the success of any relief effort, and this is no different. Thanks to our partners at Flexport.org, Airlink, and United, we were able to get critically-needed PPE to the New York metropolitan area for distribution to hospitals on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic,“ said Charles Redding, CEO and president of MedShare.
According to the Center for Disease Control, New York and New Jersey with a combined 292,020 people testing positive have the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and represent 32% of the country’s total cases as of April 16.
“Yet again, United Airlines delivered humanitarian aid and support to crisis-hit communities when it counts,” Airlink CEO Steve Smith said. “Airlink and United have successfully worked together on countless disaster relief missions across the world, and it’s great that we could be part of this mission to help the people of New York City and New Jersey.”
Airlink partner Flexport.org also played a significant role in the distribution of the supplies and others going to communities impacted by COVID-19 around the globe.
“Flexport.org, the branch of freight-forwarder Flexport focused on delivering humanitarian aid, has funded and organized the shipment of over 45 million units of PPE, but our work is far from over,” said Susy Schöneberg, head of Flexport.org. “Partnering with leaders like Airlink will help us work towards our goal of ensuring all frontline responders have the protection they need to do their jobs safely.”
Due to continued need and requests from partners to transport additional emergency supplies, Airlink is raising funds to support future flights and operations. Follow Airlink’s response to COVID-19.
