National Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Air Cargo (NAC), announced that it has been awarded a contract for expedited delivery of over 245 tonnes of COREXIT oil spill dispersants from Anchorage International Airport to New Orleans International Airport for use in the US Gulf to assist in dealing with the oil spill from a BP oil platform.

The dispersants are sprayed onto the oil slick to reduce the cohesiveness of the oil, allowing it to disperse into the water column as fine droplets. The oil is then readily biodegraded by micro-organisms in the sea. Time is of the essence after an oil spill because over time, the oil can became too viscous or emulsified to be readily dispersed, making an expedited delivery critical to clean up efforts.

“The delivery of the oil spill dispersants is extremely time critical due to the heavy environmental cost of having it arrive later – the product itself has a ‘window of opportunity’ where it is most effective,” said Chris Alf of National Air Cargo.

National Airlines said it was chosen for the mission because of the company’s record of performance for critical, time sensitive shipments requiring a quick response and flexibility under stressful environments. National Airlines employs a “two hour call out”, which means that from the moment the flight is contracted, it is airborne within two hours.