A passenger plane bearing a thank you message for the NHS and carrying surgical gowns from China has landed in the UK as part of efforts to “ramp up” imports of personal protective equipment (PPE).
An Airbus 340 with boxes of PPE strapped into every seat arrived at Bournemouth Airport last night - the first of at least five flights which have been planned using passenger jets to bring equipment to the UK.
NHS supplier Crest Medical said it had more than doubled its PPE supplies since January as demand has increased due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm said 120,000 newly-manufactured surgical suits were unloaded from the plane, which was supplied by European Aviation, and taken to an NHS warehouse.
A second flight, carrying 10,000 boxes of gloves from Malaysia, is expected to arrive in the UK on Thursday.
Sir Simon Stevens, the NHS chief executive, thanked the effort to get supplies to frontline health workers, which he said was a “continuing concern” due to global shortages during the pandemic.
“‘On behalf of the NHS, our great thanks go to everyone involved in this for helping to provide us and our nurses, doctors and other staff with this extra kit,” Sir Simon said.
“The government is bringing in personal protective equipment from international suppliers and now British manufacturers but this is a global pandemic and there are global shortages, so supplies have been a continuing concern.”
A spokesperson for Boris Johnson said the prime minister had focused on PPE delivery at a meeting on his first day back at work on Monday after recovering from coronavirus.
The government has faced growing criticism over its preparations for Covid-19, particularly on the issue of PPE supplies after a BBC investigation found officials had failed to include key items, such as gowns and visors, in its pandemic stockpile before the virus reached the UK.
Virgin Atlantic has announced it will run daily cargo-only flights from the Chinese city of Shanghai to Heathrow bringing essential equipment to the UK through May to July.
The airline had already operated nine cargo-only flights in April importing PPE for frontline workers.
It is estimated that the flights will bring more than 1,500 tonnes (43 million individual items) of supplies to the UK.
The death toll among frontline health and care workers has surpassed 100, according to figures from the PA news agency.
Last week, British Airways also announced it was increasing the frequency of its cargo flights from China to import more supplies for UK healthcare workers.
The airline said that from next month it would operate 21 flights per week from Shanghai or Beijing to London, up from the current level of 13.
Additional reporting by PA
