A plane load of emergency medical equipment that will be used in the fight against the Covid-19 virus here, has arrived in Ireland.
A number of Aer Lingus aircraft have already carried tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) on a series of flights from Beijing, China to Dublin over the past week.
Yesterday afternoon, what’s understood to be the first major consignment of medical equipment, was flown from Qatar to Shannon.
The Qatar Airways Boeing 777 freighter aircraft arrived in Shannon Airport from Doha shortly after 4.30pm with a consignment of ventilators and hospital beds for distribution across Ireland.
The hundreds of timber boxes, stacked on pallets and wrapped in protective plastic, were unloaded from the aircraft and taken to a nearby warehouse.
It was reported earlier this month that the HSE had plans to place an order for as many as 900 ventilators to help in the fight against the virus.
For patients worst effected by the Covid-19 virus, a ventilator offers the best chance of survival. A ventilator takes over the body’s breathing process when disease has caused the lungs to fail. The vital piece of equipment gives a patient time to fight off the infection and the best chance of recovery.
Qatar Airways is one of the world’s largest cargo operators and has an extensive network of more than 160 destinations using both freighters and passenger flights.
The airline resumed flights to China on 30th March to support the global supply chain, which includes the transportation of urgent medical relief aid essential to the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Commenting on the flight Mary Considine, CEO Shannon Group, which operates Shannon Airport said: “We were delighted to facilitate the arrival of this much welcomed consignment of medical supplies. As an essential service our airport remains open to facilitate cargo and repatriation flights at this unprecedented time.”
