A Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) plane has gone to Guangzhou, China to bring medical equipment.
Chief of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Devendra KC said the plane took off at 11 Thursday morning and landed at Guangzhou at around 2:50 Nepali time in the afternoon. The plane will arrive with 20 tons of equipment at around 11 Friday night.
Flash Freight Logistics of Kathmandu has chartered the flight that will bring equipment for 50 parties including CG Foundation, Shankar Group, Norvic Hospital and others, according to Managing Director of Flash Freight Thomas Murray.
The freight includes medical kits, personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, gloves, thermometers and ventilators among others, according to Murray. He added that Flash Freight is negotiating with the NAC to charter another flight to Guangzhou on April 8 or 10 as it still has materials to be brought.
He added that the NAC should give permission to carry goods even on the passenger seat as the materials have to be brought soon. "Many necessary medical materials will arrive soon if that happens and we can effectively fight the battle against coronavirus," he stated. "Bringing as much materials in the plane will also reduce cost and the goods become cheaper."
He claimed that is practiced internationally. He pointed that its international partner DB Schenker of Germany had also also carried medical goods on passenger seats from Shanghai, China to Frankfurt recently.
"Some medical equipment are very light with big volume. Such equipment can be brought on passenger seats," he explained.
Omni Group had brought the first lot of medical materials from China on Sunday. The government on Wednesday unilaterally revoked the contract with Omni citing the latter's inability to bring additional materials.
There was widespread criticism of the contract with Omni stating that the price quoted by the company was higher than the market rate.
