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A third flight with two million face masks and 32,000 surgical gowns for Irish healthcare workers, purchased by rock band U2, landed at Dublin airport from China on Sunday morning.
The shipment is the latest in a series of shipments paid for by Dublin musicians from a donation of € 10 million, from Chinese suppliers by Cork businessman Liam Casey of PCH International and flown on a flight organized by Dublin Aircraft Leasing Company Avolon.
The flight, an Airbus A330, arrived at Dublin airport from Shenzhen, China on Sunday morning with the cargo belly space underneath and the passenger cabin containing personal protective equipment (PPE).
The load of 2.1 million “Type IIR” surgical masks and surgical gowns, which is considered a priority for the Health Service Executive (HSE), will be delivered to the health service for distribution.
This is the third and final flight organized by Avolon, funded by donations from the firm and its staff, corporate donors, and members of the public through a € 350,000 crowdfunding campaign.
U2 and Casey, a 24-year veteran who runs manufacturing operations outside of China, plan to continue buying and buying more PPE for Irish health workers and shipping the equipment on more flights in the coming weeks.
The supply of PPE remains critical to front-line health care workers and others in the fight against coronavirus as countries rush to maintain adequate supplies.
Last week more than 6.6 million items of PPE were delivered through the health service.
The shipment contained two million face masks and 32,000 surgical gowns for Irish health workers.
Second batch
HSE had accelerated deliveries of its own PPE from Chinese suppliers and consolidated more deliveries in a second batch, increasing its order size to cover equipment worth € 130 million. The HSE is spending more than € 200 million in total on PPE.
Last week, Avolon sent a note to donors to its fully subscribed online crowdfunding campaign that paid for the plane rental for the second and third flights.
The note said the company had transported a total of more than four million pieces of PPE on the three flights in the previous three weeks.
The second and third flights contained protective gear purchased from U2. The first flight, which landed on April 7, contained a mixed shipment of EPP purchased by the gang, the HSE, and by Avolon itself.
The three shipments comprised 2.65 million surgical masks, 1.1 million protective gloves, 120,500 medical goggles, 100 face shields, the 32,000 surgical gowns, and 40 ventilators.
Donors to Avolon’s fundraising campaign included Aircraft Leasing Ireland, the industry representative body, the Irish division of Standard Chartered Bank that contributed € 50,000 and an Irish businessman, who did not wish to be identified, who also donated € 50,000.
Domhnál Slattery, CEO of Avolon, told The Irish Times that the company was “shocked by the speed and depth of donations”, from large corporate donations to small sums from individuals.
“Normally, every time we do a fundraiser, you pick up the phone to your friends and say, ‘Give me a few quid.’ Over a 72 hour period, we had hundreds and hundreds of donations of 20, 10 and 5 quid, people who have no connection to that is what overwhelmed us, “he said.
Slattery praised the collaborative efforts of all parties involved and the ability of Irish networks, particularly Bono’s international contacts in politics and business, and Casey’s knowledge of China, to obtain, buy and ship much-requested PPE during a pandemic.
“It was U2’s money, Liam Casey’s purchasing power and our ability in logistics,” he said.
“That extended to, ‘Well, let’s get everyone to contribute a few dollars,’ so there is a holistic harmony in the whole thing.”
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