Civilian mission to Brazil
The German Air Force has brought 80 ventilators from stocks of the federal ministry of health to Manaus. The transport, which was commissioned by the German foreign office, began at Cologne-Wahn air base, which has direct access to Cologne-Bonn Airport.
There, an A310MRTT (multi role transport tanker) of the special air mission, which has a maximum range of around 11,000 km and a payload of more than 41 t, took off in the direction of Cape Verde Islands and reached the metropolis in north western Brazil, which has been particularly affected by the spread of a virus mutation.
Lieutenant general Ingo Gerhartz, the Air Force's inspector, was pleased "that we as the Air Force can once again make a contribution to the global fight against the virus with one of our core competencies - air transport." (ah)