With the declaration of a State of Emergency in Portugal to combat the global coronavirus pandemic just hours old - Hi Fly has become the first airline to move positively to help in the crisis with the news that it was making one of its Airbus A340s available to the nation for an emergency flight to China to collect protective masks, goggles, clothing, diagnostic tests, ventilators and other pieces of much needed medical equipment - already in short supply in Portugal and other parts of Europe.
The Hi Fly aircraft, which can carry around 30 tonnes of essential supplies back to Lisbon, will depart tomorrow from Beja Airport, Portugal, to Guangzhou in China, where it will load the life-saving supplies before returning to Portugal. The flight is expected to land back in Lisbon on the morning of Mar. 22.
To guarantee that the flight was undertaken, Hi Fly declined all profits from the mission, and also, via its philanthropic partner The Mirpuri Foundation, made a 100,000 euros donation to the costs of the mission.
Hi Fly and Mirpuri Foundation Founder and President Paulo Mirpuri said, “Our intention is only to help the people of Portugal prevail in what could be a difficult battle against this worrying virus.
"We are grateful to our air crews who have undertaken this challenging task, to assist with this mission to collect much needed medical supplies.”
"As the leading wet lease airline operating worldwide, we will continue to play a role where we see that we are able to help.”
