13 August 2020: The Airbus Foundation, together with the Chilean Red Cross and Servicios Aereos Kipreos and Servicios Aereos SumaAir, collaborated to transport more than 600 kilograms of medical supplies, including facemasks, face shields and other Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) needed to support the on-going fight against COVID-19.
Servicios Aereos Kipreos and the Chilean Red Cross conducted the first mission using an H125 to fly from Santiago to Temuco with 155 kg of supplies. The second mission operated by Servicios Aereos SumaAir, together with the Chilean Red Cross, transported 465 kg of the PPE to Antofagasta, Alto Hospicio and Iquique with an H125.
The medical supplies delivered by the H125 will equip Chilean Red Cross volunteers supporting frontline efforts. Supplies will also be distributed to vulnerable citizens, along with other critical goods, such as food and hygiene kits.
These missions follow recent relief efforts led by the Airbus Foundation in early July, when 23 tons of humanitarian supplies were flown to Panama on an A330neo flight test aircraft in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF and AirFranceKLM. The goods were allocated to different countries in Latin America to support the most vulnerable populations affected by COVID-19.
Airbus employees throughout Latin America have also joined forces to combat COVID-19, by helping produce personal protective equipment in high demand for first responders. In Mexico, the Airbus team produced face shields to donate to volunteer workers of its Armed Forces.
In Brazil, Helibras engineers, Airbus’ Brazilian helicopter subsidiary, produced face protection shields using 3D printing technology and donated them to a hospital in Itajuba, where the company is based.
