MANILA, PHILIPPINES — AirAsia recently secured regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines packed in dry ice, allowing the airline to participate in the largest humanitarian effort of bringing hope to various destinations in the Philippines.
The authorization from CAAP came just in time for the expected arrival of the bulk of vaccines from Sinovac BioTech, Gamaleya Institute, and Pfizer-BioNTech in the coming weeks and months.
According to National Task Force Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez, the country is expecting the delivery of 1,000,000 doses of CoronaVac, 480,000 doses of Sputnik V, 195,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines, and 20,000 doses of Gamaleya towards the end of April while Moderna is slated to begin the delivery of 13,000,000 vaccine doses starting June and July 2021.
AirAsia targets to transport COVID-19 vaccines from Manila to Cebu and Davao starting this week, to be followed immediately by Clark and Zamboanga, and other routes such as Bacolod, Bohol, Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo, General Santos City, and Puerto Princesa utilizing the Airbus A320.
AirAsia also expressed willingness to mount chartered cargo flights to other destinations not presently covered by its existing route network to facilitate prompt delivery of much-needed vaccines.
AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said, “We have actively participated in different humanitarian projects in the past through a series of humanitarian flights to bring the much-needed help especially in the provinces which are not yet part of the AirAsia route network. Bringing the vaccines to the farthest localities in the provinces isn’t much of a challenge for us.
Our business model used to be purely air transport. The pandemic made us rethink and reassess areas that are essential. You can be assured that revitalizing the air transportation sector is AirAsia’s commitment to the Filipino people.
“Safety First” is rooted in AirAsia’s DNA. Our personnel were subjected to intense technical training, and adequate preparations were also laid out to make sure the human and engineering components of vaccine handling are met, and of the highest standards.”
AirAsia will utilize Aircraft CO2 Detectors which will play an important role in ensuring safety in the cabin during each delivery.
AirAsia is already in talks with different LGUs in their route network to efficiently map out the deliveries.
Meanwhile, the company’s cargo and logistic venture – Teleport will also play a big role in the movement of the vaccines inland.
Airlineratings.com recently awarded AirAsia a perfect 7-star rating for going above and beyond the protection and safety of its passengers against COVID-19.
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