Cathay Pacific Cargo is further supporting relief efforts in India with an airlift of 300,000 Covid-19 testing kits donated by the state of Oregon.

The airline, together with air forwarder Expeditors and logistics company Davis Trucking, partnered with the Oregon Health Authority and Department of Administrative Services to offer the shipping services for free.

The shipment, loaded with rapid test kits that show results in 15 minutes, was transported aboard Cathay Pacific Cargo’s B747 freighters which flew from Portland to Mumbai via Hong Kong.

The cargo will be delivered to the Desai Foundation, an organisation that serves rural communities in India, who will distribute the testing kit to care and isolation centres, hospitals and local health workers.

Also read: Cathay Pacific flies relief shipments to India

Cathay Pacific says this is the second time during the pandemic that it had to adjust its air cargo operations to ship essential Covid-19 supplies at no cost to Portland or to Oregon. Last year the airline carried 1 million surgical masks into the state for frontline healthcare workers.

“I would like to thank our team in the Americas and our local partners for organising this shipment, which is adding to our other efforts in bringing much-needed aid to India,” said Tom Owen, Cathay Pacific Director Cargo.

In a separate note, the airline has increased its flight frequencies from Hong Kong to all regions in its network for June. Cathay Pacific Cargo said it remains focused on adding flights to The Americas and Europe.

Early this year, the flag carrier’s freighter schedule was hit by strict rules on quarantine requirements for Hong Kong-based crew, which have been lifted since April.