Cargo giant
Converted passenger jet delivers personal protection equipment
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/05/2020 (2169 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
With so few planes in the skies these days, it’s hard not to notice when one of the largest commercial jets in the world makes a pit stop in town.
That’s what happened this weekend when an Airbus A340-600 landed in Winnipeg.
Operated by the Spanish airline, Plus Ultra, the Airbus A340-600 is normally a passenger jet with the capacity to handle about 370 passengers.
The plane is not carrying passengers these days as virtually all international passenger travel has been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Winnipeg Airports Authority CEO, Barry Rempel, the plane was carrying personal protection equipment (PPE) from Tianjin, China. This particular flight path took it from Tianjin to Madrid — as a Spanish carrier, its bilateral traffic rights would require it to fly through Spain — and then on to Winnipeg.
It was the third touchdown at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport in recent weeks for the large jet, Airbus’ longest jetliner operating today.
Like many idled airlines, Plus Ultra is converting some of its fleet to carry cargo.
“Plus Ultra is doing dedicated cargo flights, strapping the cargo to the floors or seats,” Rempel said.
It is likely the plane was flying goods on behalf of the province’s COVID-19 task force’s efforts to secure PPE for front-line workers in the province.
The fact that goods such as PPE are being shipped by air cargo is clearly indicative of the emergency that is taking place. In normal times it is the kind of product that would be shipped by less expensive and more time consuming modes like cargo ships and trains and trucks.
But until warehouses are replenished, it is keeping at least some aircraft in the air. Recent reports have indicated that as much as two-thirds of global commercial airlines’ fleets are currently grounded.
At Winnipeg Richardson International Airport there is plenty of room and capacity to handle additional cargo flights.
Since the current fiscal quarter is not complete, statistics are not yet finalized but Rempel said the passenger traffic in April at the Winnipeg airport was down 97 per cent compared to April 2019.
The A340-600 is Airbus’s competitor to the Boeing 777, one of which was also in Winnipeg on a similar airlift of PPE in late April.
The Airbus has a range of 14,630 kilometres and can carry 265 tonnes of cargo.
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca