Planes picking up medical supplies -- leave empty....

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rookiepilot
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Planes picking up medical supplies -- leave empty....

Post by rookiepilot »

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pandem ... -1.5539869

Wut....suspect more to this story........

Anyone?
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FICU
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Re: Planes picking up medical supplies -- leave empty....

Post by FICU »

The more concerning thing is that China is profiting off of their viral pandemic and look to keep supplying the globe with PPE.

It's absolute horseshit.
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lownslow
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Re: Planes picking up medical supplies -- leave empty....

Post by lownslow »

FICU wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 7:13 pm The more concerning thing is that China is profiting off of their viral pandemic
Yes, the place that has the population density and general disregard for safety is both a breeding place for communicable disease AND a powerhouse of cheap production. Who’d have thought?
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Eric Janson
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Re: Planes picking up medical supplies -- leave empty....

Post by Eric Janson »

Flying to China on a Charter basis is a mess.

The crews need China visas - even though most of the crew do not leave the aircraft.

Then it's a wait for the landing permit. That can delay departure by several days.

Then when you have permission it's a case of coordinating cargo and handling equipment to be there on arrival.

Crews are wearing full protective gear (suit/glasses/mask/gloves) whilst on the ground in China.

Basically 2 days of living on board - 12000nm round trip.
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complexintentions
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Re: Planes picking up medical supplies -- leave empty....

Post by complexintentions »

I remember flying the B777F in and out of PVG. Cargo ops even prior to the virus were a nightmare. Even when you did get your consignment you'd sit waiting, sometimes for hours, to push back while everyone screams at each other in Mandarin on the radio. Then push and start, to taxi...100 metres. Set the brake and wait another 25 minutes there, engines running. Repeat several times until finally at the hold line. Departure you're step-climbed in tiny increments (flight levels in metres, of course), you might have gone 500 miles and still be at something like 24,000 ft. Exhausting, soul-crushing flying. Very long duty days. It isn't the job for the easily triggered, you gotta learn to roll with the infinite delays: put the comms on the speaker, go to the galley and make a coffee, recline the seat back and wait to hear your callsign in broken English. I'd definitely have applied for one of those temp Cargojet jobs if I had a B767 rating. I kinda have a perverse attraction to challenge. :mrgreen:

The main issue it would seem is that loads of PPE are getting bought and re-sold to the highest bidder - shipments sometimes getting re-directed to different buyers right at the apron. For a commie country they've grasped laissez-faire capitalism pretty well. Couple that with the logistical stupidity and I'm surprised only a couple of aircraft have come back empty.
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