Azores Airlines has made another cargo flight to the city of Praia, Santiago Island, and a repatriation flight between Praia and Lisbon to EMPROFAC, the National Company of Pharmaceutical Products, a reference in the pharmaceutical sector in Cape Verde, responsible for ensuring the import, marketing and distribution of medicines and pharmaceutical products to all Pharmacies, Hospitals and other health structures in Cape Verde.
The cargo flight took off from Lisbon to the city of Praia with more than 11 tons of cargo, among which was material for hospital use to supply pharmacies, local health units, and hospitals in the region.
This air operation fulfilled a double purpose: on the one hand, it ensured the transportation of cargo essential to face the world pandemic of COVID-19 and, on the other hand, it guaranteed the return to mainland Portugal of citizens who were in the Archipelago of Cape Verde. Among the passengers transported were mainly passengers of Cape Verdean and Portuguese nationality.
In a thank-you note sent to the airline, the President of EMPROFAC, Fernando Gil Évora, highlighted the efficiency with which the cargo ship operation was performed, having emphasized the surprising capacity of the A321 Neo aircraft. The mention was received with particular enthusiasm by the SATA Cargo team, since the airline reaches a historical record for the second time within days, guaranteeing, this time, the transport of 11,032 kilos of material for hospital use, which is light but bulky, requiring special attention to the cargo's preparation and conditioning in the holds, to maximize the available space. The success of this joint operation was related to the coordination work carried out by the Portuguese company MARMOD, a shipping company belonging to GRUPO SOUSA, a relevant logistic partner in this cargo ship operation.
It was the eighth air operation carried out by Azores Airlines in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, having already operated repatriation flights, or for transporting special cargo, between destinations as diverse as Toronto, Ponta Delgada, Punta Cana, Lisbon, Porto, São Vicente, Praia, Sal, Fortaleza, Vienna, and Shanghai.