The national carrier launched a relief initiative to aid Indians as the South Asian country continues to face the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak. 

Qatar Airways launched a donation drive to support India amid an alarming surge in Covid-19 infections in the Asian country.

“We are sponsoring the transportation of designated healthcare goods to the Indian Red Cross Society in Delhi for distribution throughout the country to help curb the crisis the country is enduring now,” QA said in a statement.

The national airlines partnered with the Gulf Warehousing Company (GWC) to allow for residents of Qatar to donate as part of relief efforts for India.

How to help

The airline invited locals in Qatar to donate much-needed medical equipment and supplies that could potentially ease the suffering of Indians amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This comes under the QR Cargo “WeQare” initiative that aims to support those in need with all necessary supplies free of charge.

Doha News reached out to GWC to confirm the news and learn more on how to make a donation to support the Covid-stricken country.

In Qatar, those that are keen on helping can donate ventilators, oxygen concentrators, medical air compressors, Tocilizumab injection and Remdesivir injection, GWC said.

However, PPEs (personal protection equipment), clothes or dry rations/groceries will not be accepted as part of the donation cargo.

The following includes information on items that are being accepted, as well as the conditions to ensure safe transportation, drop-off details, and general guidelines about the shipments:

• Ventilators/personal oxygen concentrators: items must be in original manufacturing packaging, and must not be damaged. If they are powered by lithium batteries, the GWC must be informed. 
• Oxygen cylinders: must be made of aluminium alloy or steel, with a maximum cylinder net weight of 150kg. The working pressure of the cylinder must not exceed 2/3 of the test pressure, but not exceeding five bars (check the valve if visible, or contact the manufacturer or sales person for confirmation).The cylinder must be valid within 10 years from the test period (embossed on the cylinder), and the pressure gauge (regulator valve) must not be damaged.

• Medical air compressors: the pressure valve/vessel must be empty (zero).
• Medical drugs: Remdesivir injection/Tocilizumab injection: must be in the original packaging, and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is required.

The drop-off point is the GWC Logistics Village warehouse unit DWH 1; the location on Google Maps can be found here.

The timings for drop-off are from 9am till 9pm, however, donations can also be accepted after 9pm with prior arrangement and can be made until the end of May.

Benefactors will be required to show appropriate identification (QID) and provide contact details at the drop-off point.

The GWC and QA personnel will examine the goods and packaging to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations.

“Items determined not fit for air transportation will be notified/returned to the donor,” a statement noted. 

The South Asian country has urged the international community to rally together to assist it as it faces a worsening health crisis.

Its second wave has triggered the emergence of a new “double-mutant” strain of the virus, prompting authorities in Qatar to impose mandatory quarantine for travellers arriving from India as well as five other Asian countries.

Qatar Airways stands by India

QA previously announced that it will be collecting healthcare goods and will be shipping the cargo to the Covid-hit country free of charge from global suppliers.

“The airline intends to transport 300 tonnes of aid from across its global network to Doha where it will be flown in a three-flight cargo aircraft convoy directly to destinations in India where it is most desperately needed,” QA said in a press release on Thursday. 

“As one of the world air cargo leaders, with an extensive international network, we stand ready to provide humanitarian support by transporting these much-needed supplies, and help the country fight back against this appalling virus. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said. 

Read also: Qatar’s India visa centre’s to open for domestic workers

Al Baker said cargo planes have already shipped well over 20 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines for UNICEF as part of the five-year agreement to support its Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.

This is not the first initiative of its kind by the national airlines. QA provided similar aid flights to China, shipping supplies to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai in February 2020.  

Follow Doha News on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube