UPS adds more than 200 flights in April for US, Europe coronavirus relief

UPS has added more than 200 company-owned and chartered cargo flights in April to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Project Airbridge "and other healthcare-related missions," according a press release Friday. A majority of the new flights will ferry products from Asia to the U.S. and Europe, UPS said. Cargo will include personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, emergency room monitoring equipment, test kits and other supplies to aid global coronavirus response efforts, the company said. UPS also touted its ability "to transport specialized products, such as temperature sensitive compounds." FedEx confirmed to Supply Chain Dive Monday that it added 150 flights for April to carry PPE, medical supplies and "other essential items" from Asia to the U.S. Although FedEx did not link the activity directly to Project Airbridge, the carrier is participating in the FEMA program. As demand for passenger flights has dropped dramatically, so has capacity on the belly space of passenger planes — which shippers and forwarders traditionally rely heavily upon to move airfreight. The Federal Aviation Administration released guidance Wednesday on safe carriage of cargo in a passenger plane, but many global airlines were already engaging in the practice.