Project Airbridge

Airlines act as an auxiliary transport wing for the U.S. government during times of crisis.

FEMA is trying to plan ahead for supply chain bottlenecks related to pandemic response and says it needs private sector help. New antitrust immunity on information-sharing should help.

Russian airline Volga-Dnepr, whose planes are commonly associated with transporting heavy equipment, spent the past three months ferrying tons of medical supplies from China to France to combat COVID-19.

Personal protective equipment is moving by ocean, so FEMA doesn’t need to charter expensive freighter aircraft anymore to get the stuff to healthcare workers.

Group says more coordination needed to address insufficient supply of masks, hand sanitizer.

The U.S. government, hospitals and aid groups are relying on UPS, Atlas Air and other airfreight to speed deliveries of critical supplies.

While FEMA is working to airlift medical supplies from international sources, the White House doesn’t want to share equipment with other countries that may be in need. But don’t blame logistics providers like FedEx, which are executing on their logistics contracts.

UPS offers companies a full suite of supply chain services. They can pick what they need or get a turnkey solution. Now the third-party logistics provider is playing the same role for FEMA.

The Trump administration is working to accelerate deliveries of medical supplies from overseas to address shortages at healthcare facilities around the U.S., but doesn’t want American companies to export any protective gear to other countries.

The Justice Department said joint logistics operations among five American medical supply distributors to provide protective medical gear to virus hot spots does not violate antitrust law.

The demand for coronavirus medical supplies is so great that passenger aircraft are being repurposed for cargo service, logistics companies are chartering those airplanes and full freighters, and governments are setting up air pipelines with logistics partners.

FEMA is trying to overcome the shortage in coronavirus supplies by accelerating airfreight shipments to the U.S.