United Airlines on Friday began operating charter flights carrying the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to expedite its distribution should it receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks, two people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reviewed a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration detailing United's plans to fly chartered flights between Brussels International Airport — Pfizer has a final-assembly center in Puurs, Belgium — and Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and the FAA said in a statement Friday it was supporting the "first mass air shipment of a vaccine."
The agency said it will also allow United to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight, five times more than what is normally permitted, to ensure the low storage temperature required for Pfizer's vaccine is maintained throughout the flights. The dry ice will be packed inside suitcase-sized boxes containing the vaccine. Per The Hill, the FAA said air traffic services will prioritize flights carrying vaccine cargo.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The flights are just one aspect of Pfizer's distribution, the Journal notes. The company also includes refrigerated storage sites in Puurs and Kalamazoo, Michigan, as well as expanded storage capacity at distribution sites in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and Karlsruhe, Germany. There will reportedly be dozens of cargo flights and hundreds of truck trips each day. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
