Chinelo Obogo
Air Peace has made delivery of the second batch of medical supplies ordered by the Federal Government from China in its effort to contain the Coronavirus.
The flight which is the first domestic airline to make a non-stop trip to the Asian country was operated by the airline’s Boeing B777-200 ER (P4 5-NBVE), landed in Beijing, China at 14:18 pm local time on Tuesday and arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Wednesday after 15 hours non-stop flight, touching down at the airport at 4:25 pm local time.
The Federal Government on April 5 delivered the first batch of medical supplies from Istanbul, Turkey, also airlifted Air Peace.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, Allen Onyema described the flight as historical and commended the Federal Government for its commitment to protecting Nigerian citizens from the dreaded pandemic that is ravaging the world.
Onyema also thanked the Federal Government for choosing an indigenous carrier to airlift the medical supplies from Turkey and China, observing that this is a huge encouragement to local airline operators and promotion of indigenous businesses, which create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youths.
“Another history was made this day, April 7, 2020, as Air Peace Boeing 777-200ER (P4 5-NBVE) landed in Beijing, China, 14:18pm, for the airlift of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s medical supplies for the fight against COVID-19.
”This is the first time a Nigerian airline would be doing a direct non-stop 14 hours flight to China. The aircraft operated another non-stop 15 hours fight to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. All six-man crew are Nigerians.
“May God Almighty be praised for everything,” Onyema said.
Among the materials brought in by the Air Peace flight include 16-tons of test kits, ventilators, disinfectant machines, disposable medical masks, medicines, rubber gloves, protective gowns, goggles, face shields, infra-red thermometers and other critical care items.
Meanwhile, an Ethiopian Airline B777-300 evacuated 281 more US nationals from the Murtala Muhammed International airport, Lagos on Wednesday April 8 bringing the number of foreigners that have been repatriated from Nigeria to
2,020.
The flight left for Washington Dulles International Airport, making it the third in the series of repatriation flights for American citizens out of Lagos. The US Mission in Nigeria said it hopes to get about 1, 000 Americans out of Lagos this week alone and additional flights are expected to depart the state within the next few days.
The US Consul in Nigeria said priority on repatriation flights is given to the elderly, individuals with serious health issues, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and physically-challenged citizens. Before boarding, local health authorities conducted temperature checks on all of the passengers.