Boeing Airlifts 150,000 PPE From China To US

(RTTNews) - Boeing has transported more than 150,000 personal protective equipment or PPE units from China to the U.S. as part of the company's COVID-19 airlift missions.

The aerospace and defense giant said it deployed thee Dreamlifter aircraft to transport protective eye goggles and face shields to frontline health care professionals in South Carolina.

Boeing worked in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina or MUSC to deliver the PPE supplies to frontline health care professionals in the MUSC system.

The MUSC Health team will use the PPE for their statewide COVID-19 community testing and outreach efforts as they ramp up diagnostic testing and antibody testing across South Carolina.

Boeing noted that the MUSC Health team was first in the U.S. to launch a combined virtual urgent care platform and drive-through specimen collection site. They are now bringing a version of this successful model to the communities that need it most.

Boeing has used the Dreamlifter, a converted Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter, for its current and previous airlift missions. The medical cargo was transported in the lower lobe of the aircraft, while 787 component parts were flown in the main deck cargo hold.

Boeing said it has donated the cost of the mission transport, while Atlas Air operated the flights on behalf of Boeing.

The company has scheduled additional flights to deliver a total of 400,000 units of PPE to MUSC in the near future.

Last week, Boeing resumed all 787 operations at its South Carolina facility that were temporarily suspended on April 8 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boeing has also resumed operations in production facilities in Philadelphia as well as the Puget Sound-region.

The airplane maker had said in late April that it would not seek additional funding through the capital markets or the U.S. government options after it successfully raised $25 billion in a bond offering.