A special Air Canada-operated Boeing 787-9 humanitarian cargo charter flight has successfully transported medical equipment and supplies from Canadian NGOs to Ukraine war victims via Warsaw, Poland. Onboard were tonnes of much-needed gear, including hospital beds, vinyl mattresses, and other humanitarian supplies.

Air Canada's emergency aid flight to Warsaw

The Dreamliner departed Toronto's Pearson International Airport (YYZ) bound for Warsaw's Chopin Airport (WAW) on Wednesday evening. With a flying time of around eight hours and accounting for time zone differences, the plane touched down before lunchtime the following day. Within hours of landing, the medical supplies onboard were transported by road to a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine.

"Our hearts are with the Ukrainian people in need - all of us have seen the crisis they are facing. We know from our aid partners the critical requirement for much needed medical and humanitarian supplies, and our global partner Airlink reached out to us to help transport these vital items quickly," said Jason Berry, Vice President of Cargo at Air Canada.

"Importantly, both Airlink and GlobalMedic have the infrastructure and teams on the ground to ensure that the shipments will get to their destinations right after our flight arrives. We are proud of our employees who have stepped up to help organize the complex logistics, handle and operate this special flight so quickly."

Air Canada's Dreamliner handles the flight with ease

On the ground in Europe, Project C.U.R.E. will manage the distribution of supplies to hospitals treating Ukrainian civilians injured during the war. Founded in a garage in Colorado in 1987, Project C.U.R.E. now delivers three to five semi truck-sized shipping containers loaded with medical equipment and supplies every week. They are the world's largest distributor of donated medical supplies and equipment.

"This first shipment of emergency medical supplies and equipment is just one of many to come," said Dr Douglas Jackson, President and C.E.O. of Project C.U.R.E. "We are incredibly grateful to our partners at Airlink and Air Canada for making this a reality."

Operating as AC7312, the five-year-old Boeing 787-9 C-FGHZ handled the 4,412 mile (7,100 kilometer) transatlantic hop with ease. After unloading in Warsaw, the Boeing made the short hop to Frankfurt (FRA). The plane is scheduled to return to Montreal on Friday, operating as AC7313.

A team effort from Air Canada, logistics firms, and NGOs

Getting the medical supplies and equipment to Lviv wasn't just a Project C.U.R.E/Air Canada partnership. Various NGOs and logistics firms swung into action to make this flight happen. The supplies and equipment started their journey at Project C.U.R.E.'s warehouse in Illinois. Flexport pitched in at Chicago O'Hare Airport to tender the gear across to an Air Canada flight.

Non-profit disaster logistics expert Airlink also got involved. Airlink has a long-term partnership with Air Canada and works to zero out the cost of air transportation as a barrier to NGOs responding to disasters and other humanitarian crises.

"This shipment will make a material impact on the lives of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and support the communities hosting them," said Steve Smith, Airlink President and CEO.

"Getting the shipment to Poland on behalf of our NGO partner Project C.U.R.E. meant overcoming a challenging logistical environment, but I'm thrilled we could do it with assistance from our long-time friends and supporters Air Canada. This is the first of many cargo movements Airlink will carry out in support of Ukrainian refugees."

More emergency aid flights on the horizon?

Also involved in the flight was GlobalMedic. The Canadian NGO is working with local agencies in Ukraine and neighboring countries to support the distribution of food, hygiene items, and other necessities to people leaving Ukraine and supporting and facilitating cross-border distributions into Ukraine.

"We are grateful to our friends at Airlink and Air Canada for giving us air cargo space to ship essential medicines and trauma supplies," said Rahul Singh, Executive Director at GlobalMedic. "The aid will land in Warsaw, where our partners will grab them and truck them to a hospital in Lviv. Essential medicines are needed by patients fleeing the fighting who could not bring their prescription medicines with them and are facing shortages in local pharmacies. Trauma supplies, especially dressings, are needed to treat victims of this war."

At the time of publication, the bombing of Ukrainian civilians continues, and the humanitarian crisis is deepening. AC7312 may not be the last Air Canada emergency aid flight into Europe.