Commercial airlines are taking a big financial hit amid the coronavirus pandemic. Orders to stay at home and socially distance have all but stopped passenger air travel, but some carriers, like United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL), are pivoting.
Before the pandemic, United would mingle cargo and passengers, but it hadn’t flown cargo-only planes since 2000, said Chris Busch, the airline’s managing director of cargo. But in the last month, United has flown more than 20 passenger-free overseas flights, totaling at least 160,000 pounds of cargo, to Dulles International Airport, where it maintains a hub and employs some 1,100. Across its network, United has flown 560 cargo-only flights, carrying 9,350 tons of goods, since March 19.
The cargo it carries has generally shifted from electronics and clothing pre-pandemic to medical supplies and equipment, such as face masks, pharmaceuticals and hazmat suits. It’s often bound for laboratories, but in some cases makes its way to front-line health care workers,…
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