Ethiopian Airlines carries 17 tonnes of medical supplies to Zimbabwe

April 22, 2020: Ethiopian Airlines has transported 17 tonnes shipment containing various testing kits, masks and other medical supplies to Harare, Zimbabwe, received from the Jack Ma Foundation and WHO on April 20.

Ethiopian Airlines has been continuously engaged in distributing critical medical supplies to all African countries since the outbreak. Meanwhile, the airline completed the flight and delivery of the second round shipment to fight Covid-19 to all African countries.

Following the spread of Covid-19, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services has deployed its state-of-the-art Pharma Wing to facilitate the flow of essential cargo such as medical supplies. The facility, which is housed within the largest transshipment terminal in Africa is equipped with temperature controlled pharma handling storage covering an area of 54,000 square metres. It is suitable for handling medical supplies in different temperature ranges through the use of active containers and real-time temperature monitoring system. 

The group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde GebreMariam, said, “It is a special honour for the entire Ethiopian Airlines family to be selected as logistics partner and distribution hub for Africa by the Jack Ma foundation, our Prime Minster, WFP and the African CDC. This project which is running its second round of shipment delivery showed the true African integration in line with the AU Vision 2063. It is a role model for what Africa can achieve in its quest for continental integration. We are also happy to see the fruits of our multi hundred million dollars investment in cargo infrastructure now coming to save Africa from the Covid-19.”

In the month of March, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services transported a total uplift of over 45,848 tonnes of cargo to different parts of the world deploying both its freighters and passenger fleet.

Ethiopian Airlines has started to carry medical shipments from March 22 using its B777F.