NE BUSINESS BUREAU
GURUGRAM, MAY 11
SpiceJet, the country’s biggest air cargo operator, is contributing in a big way to support Surat’s shrimp farmers by transporting record quantities of fresh shrimp produce and supporting the government’s ‘Marine Krishi Udaan’ initiative.
Lending a helping hand to farmers and ensuring that the supply chain remains intact and farmers get to transport and export their products in a timely and efficient manner during the nation-wide lockdown, SpiceJet has transported 505 tons of fresh shrimp produce to Surat using its dedicated fleet of freighters and passenger aircraft and operating special cargo flights.
Surat has been a major hub for SpiceJet for transporting Shrimp.
Pioneer of India’s ‘Marine Krishi Udaan’, SpiceJet had launched dedicated freighter flights on February 25 this year to ferry shrimp. The airline has transported 505 tons of shrimp to Surat during the lockdown phase till May 8 carrying 365 MT on Chennai-Surat route, 140 MT on Vishakhapatnam-Surat route among others.
Between February 25 and May 8, SpiceJet has transported close to 800 tons of shrimp to Surat. Shrimp farmers used to face a lot of problems in undertaking timely transportation of seeds in the absence of dedicated freighter flights thereby leading to heavy losses.
Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “These are the most difficult times for our farmer community who have been amongst the worst hit during this pandemic. In the absence of timely transportation, farmers would have faced huge losses and we are happy that our cargo services have been of help to them. SpiceJet remains firmly committed to the Government’s all-out efforts in mitigating the adverse impact of the pandemic.”
Altogether, SpiceJet has transported over 20 lakh kilograms of fresh farm and shrimp produce during the lockdown period. This includes 950 tons of shrimp carried during the lockdown period, till May 8 and 1070 tons of fresh farm produce.
Overall, during the lockdown period, SpiceJet has transported 631 tons of cargo to and from Gujarat which includes transporting medical and surgical supplies, sanitizers, face masks, coronavirus rapid test kits, IR thermometers etc. and providing doorstep deliveries of essential supplies, medicines, medical equipment, cold chain medical supplies to various medical and pharma companies, international retailers in this global war against COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline has transported a total of 6,650 tons of cargo within and outside India during the lockdown period.
The airline has operated special cargo flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, Kabul, Myanmar, Sharjah, Male, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Bahrain, Cambodia, Ukraine and a host of other places.
SpiceJet has been continuously expanding its cargo network on both domestic and international routes carrying not just COVID-19 related medical supplies but also ensuring that vital export lines from India to other countries remain intact. The airline operated the country’s first cargo-on-seat flight on April 7 carrying vital supplies in passenger cabin & belly space. Since then, the airline has been regularly deploying its B737 and Q400 passenger aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.
On March 29, SpiceJet operated a special flight between Delhi and Jodhpur to facilitate transportation of 136 Indian passengers evacuated from COVID-19 hit Iran to a Government quarantine facility in the city.
SpiceJet operated a special charter flight on March 27 from Delhi to Coimbatore on Government’s request and transported a Hazmat suit that is helping local authorities replicate and start local manufacturing.
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