Solidarity Plane: LATAM Airlines program during the pandemic

Amid the closing of borders and the restrictions adopted in the fight against Covid-19, transporting patients, healthcare professionals, medical supplies, and organs for transplants has been the great challenge of the LATAM Airlines Group’s Solidarity Plane program. LATAM is an associate of Aberje in Brazil.

LATAM’s Solidarity Plane has already transported around 400 healthcare professionals and 300 patients to receive emergency care or surgery. Besides, for the first time in its history, it landed in China to transport medical supplies, including masks and respirators.

Nine years after its launch, the Solidarity Plane has become vital to meeting humanitarian and health needs in Latin America. “The Solidarity Plane flies to support the region when facing one of the world’s worst health crises. To date, we have transported more than 400 tons of medical supplies, such as face masks, Covid-19 speed tests, ventilators, and medicines, benefiting Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina,” said the head of Sustainability at LATAM Airlines Group, Francisca Arias.

Part of these inputs comes from China. More than 60 hours of travel and a team of 30 people – between planning and execution teams – participate in the preparation of these flights. They represent a significant challenge for the airline, which has even reconfigured two of its Boeing aircraft (787 and 777), the most modern in the fleet, removing part of the cabin seats to give more space to cargo.