SpiceJet flight carries cargo on passenger seats, first of its kind

"Since the lockdown began, we have carried more than 1,400 tonne of cargo operating around 200 domestic and international cargo flights. Today, for the first time in the country, we used a passenger aircraft to transport cargo where in addition to the belly space the passenger cabin was used to safely carry essential supplies," chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said today.

SpiceJet is the only major airline in the country to have a separate frieghter arm called SpiceXpress. SpiceXpress has five frieghter aircraft under its network.

Special seat covers, made from flame-proof material were used to cover the seats and the cargo on seat was secured with restraints. To ensure optimum utilisation of space, the overhead bin, were also used, the airline said.

"The aircraft flew from Delhi to Chennai. From Chennai it operated to Surat and from Surat it operated back to Chennai. The aircraft will operate from Chennai to Mumbai and from Mumbai to Delhi later today with cargo on-board," the Gurugram-based airline said.

So far, the airline has transported essential items and medical supplies to Bengaluru, Patna, Chennai, Ahmedabad-Bengaluru, Raipur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Kochi, Guwahati, Jammu, Lucknow among other cities.

SpiceJet also transported over 4,000 coronavirus Rapid Test Kits to Kozhikode from Mumbai, transported an emergency consignment of IR Thermometers, required to detect COVID-19, to Kolkata from Hong Kong on March 26, carried a Hazmat suit on March 27 from Delhi to Coimbatore on Government's request carrying a Hazmat suit that would help local authorities replicate and start local manufacturing.

On March 29, SpiceJet also operated a special flight between Delhi and Jodhpur to facilitate transportation of 136 Indian passengers evacuated from COVID-19 hit Iran to a Government quarantine facility in the city.