Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Temasek Foundation are partnering with the World Food Programme (WFP) to support the global COVID-19 response to help transport essential medical supplies and other health and humanitarian items by air to points of need around the world.

Providing the logistics backbone for global COVID-19 efforts, WFP operates a network of hubs and passenger and cargo airlinks to ensure a steady flow of supplies and support to the frontlines of the pandemic. Since these services commenced in May, WFP has managed more than 800 humanitarian flights to 159 countries, with enough cargo to fill 188 jumbo jets expected to require WFP transport in the coming weeks.

“While demand for WFP Common Services grows every week, resources are stretched incredibly thin and additional support is urgently needed,” said Amer Daoudi, WFP’s COVID-19 corporate response director. Under this agreement, SIA is making ad-hoc charter flights and freight space in its scheduled services available on a cost-recovery basis, with flight costs being covered by a contribution of up to USD 6.5 million from the Temasek Foundation.

Chin Yau Seng, senior vice president of cargo in SIA said: “It is a pleasure for SIA to partner with WFP and Temasek Foundation in this meaningful programme. This will allow us to draw on our expertise as a global airfreight provider and use our international network to deliver essential supplies to the points of need and help to make a positive impact on the communities that have been directly affected by the pandemic.”