Budget carrier SpiceJet's dedicated freighter arm SpiceXpress on Wednesday said it has airlifted 1,000 oxygen concentrators from Hong Kong to Delhi amid a shortage of medical oxygen in the country.
Ordered by SpiceHealth for emergency use and distribution across India, the oxygen concentrators will reach Delhi via Kolkata, SpiceJet said in a release.
An oxygen concentrator is a medical device that concentrates oxygen from ambient air.
This is the second big consignment of oxygen concentrators ordered and delivered to SpiceHealth with more than 2000 such concentrators getting transported in the last two weeks, SpiceJet said.
The company is looking at bringing about 20,000 oxygen concentrators in the coming days from across the globe, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director, Ajay Singh said.
SpiceHealth has been working actively with state governments and hospitals across the country to address the issue of acute shortage of oxygen, the company said.
“Considering the current situation across the country, our focus is to airlift as many oxygen concentrators, BiPAPs, and other medical devices as possible to cater to the increasing demand. SpiceJet and SpiceHealth are collaborating actively to contribute in our country's dedicated efforts to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” Singh said.
With a network spanning 63 domestic and 50 international destinations and a fleet of 19 cargo planes, SpiceXpress is capable of flying over 600 tonnes of cargo daily to domestic and international destinations.