July 27, 2020, São Paulo – LATAM Brazil concluded the unprecedented mega-operation to transport equipment coming from China in order to combat COVID-19 in Brazil. In total, 45 flights were carried out in partnership with the public and private sectors. Since May, a total of 3,200 tons of cargo were transported in these flights, including 250 million surgical and N95 masks, monitors, respirators and other medical supplies. In addition, several tons of fruit were transported to Europe on the way to China.
LATAM Brazil carried out the company’s first operation to China, which required coordinated work from several areas to define the best possible logistics. The first flight took place on May 3, traveling from Guarulhos to Amsterdam and finally to Shanghai. Since then, 300 employees have been part of the operation, including mechanics, operational dispatchers, pilots, copilots, supervisors, coordinators, planners, cargo personnel and ground support.
Click here to check LATAM’s special video about the 45 China-Brazil mega-operation flights.
The flights
All 45 mega-operation flights were carried out in five rotating Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft, which were fully adapted for cargo transportation inside the cabins. All together, the aircraft traveled approximately 2,800 hours and two million kilometers, crossing 11 different time zones and using eight destinations for landings and stopovers: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Amsterdam, Auckland, Santiago, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
“We can say, with absolute certainty, that this operation was a success. We are very proud that, even when facing an unprecedented challenge like this one, we were able to organize ourselves in the best way to deliver properly. I thank our professionals, who were focused on their work, and also our partners for the trust they placed in us”, states Diogo Elias, LATAM Cargo Brazil’s Director.
Snapshot of all 45 LATAM-CHINA flights:
• 250 million surgical and N95 masks, in addition to monitors, respirators and other medical supplies
• More than 3.2 thousand tons of cargo transported
• 5 B777-300ER aircraft (PT-MUC, PT-MUD, PT-MUE, PT-MUJ, PT-MUI) completely adapted for cargo transportation
• 2,800 hours flown
• Over 2 million kilometers traveled
• 11 different time zones crossed
• 8 destinations used for landings and stopovers: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Amsterdam, Auckland, Santiago, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo
• 45 flights carried out
• First flight: May 3, 2020 – Guarulhos-Amsterdam-Shanghai route
• Last flight: July 18, 2020 – Guangzhou-Amsterdam-Guarulhos route (landing in GRU on July 19)
• 300 LATAM employees involved
• Special team consisting of mechanics, operational dispatchers, pilots, copilots, supervisors, coordinators, planners, cargo personnel and ground support