India to airlift 220 tonnes of essential medical cargo from China, says Aviation Ministry

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said that India will airlift 220 tonnes of essential medical cargo from China over the next three days. Taking to Twitter, the minister said that the national Carrier, Air India, has lifted about 300 tonnes of essential medical cargo so far this month through the China-India aerobridge.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to contain the outbreak of Coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of over 600 in the country till now. All commercial passenger flights have been suspended for the lockdown period, which is scheduled to last till May 3.

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Earlier, under the Lifeline Udan initiative, around 227 flights have transported over 4047 tonnes of medical and essential supplies across the country amid the lockdown due to the coronavirus crisis. The medical supplies, as per reports, have been transported to the remote parts of the country.

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Air India opens booking

Meanwhile, the government carrier Air India announced it has opened bookings on select domestic and international routes from May 4 and June 1, respectively. Earlier, it had stopped accepting bookings on all domestic flights for travel till May 3, 2020, and on all international flights for travel till May 31, 2020. On April 3, Air India had said it has stopped bookings, both domestic and international, till the end of the month.

"Bookings for select domestic flights for travel from May 4, 2020, and for international flights for travel from June 1, 2020, onwards are open," a notification on Air India's website said.

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