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More emergency FEMA flights arrive in US with coronavirus supplies

Eric Kulisch
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Medical supplies being unloaded from a National Airlines freighter at Rickenbacker Airport. (Source: Columbus Regional Airport Authority)

The federal airlift of emergency medical supplies continued Thursday with at least two all-cargo planes making deliveries.

An all-cargo plane full of disposable medical gloves touched down in the morning at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, said Todd Crabtree, the Chicago-area general manager at STG Logistics. Atlas Air operated the flight.

Indianapolis-based InTek Freight & Logistics has subcontracted with STG to recover the cargo from the airport and create outbound loads for shipment to medical facilities. The gloves are being sent to Texas, Massachusetts, Ohio and Illinois, according to Crabtree.

STG, headquartered in Chicago, worked the cargo that came off freighters in New York and Chicago earlier this week.


The airlift is being coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is helping the Department of Health and Human Services to match health care facilities that need supplies for workers and patients with suitable overseas manufacturers and making arrangements to accelerate deliveries. FEMA’s Project Airbridge has chartered 19 cargo flights and says it plans to book more service to meet near-term demand. Atlas Air has provided transport on at least three missions so far.

Meanwhile, a National Airlines B747-400 arrived early Thursday morning at Rickenbacker International Airport with an 83-ton shipment of personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer from Shanghai, according to the Columbus Regional Airport Authority (CRAA).

The airport expected to handle a similar flight Wednesday, but FEMA diverted the shipment to Los Angeles.

“This morning’s shipment of critical medical supplies, during a time when they are needed most, illustrates the importance of keeping our airports open and operational during these challenging times,” said CRAA President Joe Nardone in a statement. “As a logistics hub, Rickenbacker offers a strategic advantage to quickly move goods where they are needed.”


The airport expects to receive two more shipments, with supplies shared with medical distributors in areas of greatest need.

Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com