Operation Fly Formula

From missiles to baby formula, airlines provide vital airlift for US government

A military flatbed truck delivers missiles to load on a a white United Airlines jet with the cargo door open.

The Biden administration’s emergency airlift to expedite imports of overseas baby formula amid a widespread domestic shortage is the latest example of the U.S. government employing commercial cargo and passenger airlines to help solve a logistics crisis.

Since the start of the COVID pandemic in early 2020, the Trump and Biden administrations have leaned on these air logistics providers at least five times to deliver equipment, supplies and people for public health and national security needs. 

In...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/from-missiles-to-baby-formula-airlines-provide-vital-airlift-for-us-government

Delta donates airlift capacity for Operation Fly Formula

A large white jet with blue tail and Delta logo takes off from a grassy airport.

Delta Air Lines will fly baby formula from the United Kingdom to Boston and Detroit this month free of charge on regularly scheduled passenger flights, mirroring the public service provided by United Airlines to help the U.S. government alleviate an ongoing domestic shortage.

The Department of Health and Human Services arranged for Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) to carry the shipments from London’s Heathrow Airport to Logan Airport in Boston and Detroit Metro Airport between June 20 and 24, the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/delta-donates-airlift-capacity-for-operation-fly-formula

FedEx, United to deliver foreign-made baby formula to Dallas

A white FedEx jet with a blue tail lifts off the runway with warehouses in the background.

A FedEx Express MD-11 freighter and a United Airlines passenger jet are scheduled to land Thursday afternoon at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport with emergency shipments of baby formula organized by the Biden administration as part of its campaign to alleviate a critical domestic food shortage for infants.

The FedEx (NYSE: FDX) charter flight from Cologne, Germany, is carrying 110,000 pounds of Nestle infant formula, which can make about 1.6 million eight-ounce bottles. 

The Department of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-united-to-deliver-foreign-made-baby-formula-to-dallas

United Airlines volunteers to deliver baby formula from London

A pallet on a lift being loaded into rear of white United jet with blue tail .

United Airlines will donate space on passenger aircraft to transport baby formula from the United Kingdom under the U.S. government’s Operation Fly Formula program to shore up depleted domestic stocks so families can feed their infants.

The White House announced that United has agreed to transport Kendamil formula free of charge from Heathrow Airport in London to multiple airports across the United States over a three-week period, beginning June 9. These are the first Operation Fly Formula...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/united-airlines-volunteers-to-deliver-baby-formula-from-london

FDA authorizes more baby formula imports as air cargo pipeline grows

A large, white FedEx plane with blue tail rolls down the runway, heading toward camera.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced that an emergency shipment of baby formula equivalent to 5 million 8-ounce bottles — more than triple the amount delivered this week on the first two Operation Fly Formula flights — is being readied in Europe. 

The news follows completion of a FedEx delivery for the government, the FDA informing a second foreign manufacturer it could also use new regulatory flexibility to import infant formula and lawmakers seeking answers on how to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fda-authorizes-more-baby-formula-imports-as-air-cargo-pipeline-grows