New Delhi, Apr 8 (IANS): The Centre on Wednesday said that under the "Lifeline Udan" initiative, 161 flights have transported around 240 tonnes of medical supplies across the country till April 7.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation said that these flights are being operated to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India's war against Covid-19.

Accordingly, these flights have been operated by Air India, Alliance Air, Indian Air Force and other private carriers.

"Lifeline Udan flights transported 39.3 tonnes of medical supplies across the country on April 7. Total cargo transported by these flights during the Covid-19 lockdown is around 240 tonnes. A total of 161 flights have been operated under the Lifeline Udan initiative till date, covering 1,41,080 km," the ministry said in a statement.

"Out of these, 99 flights were operated by Air India and Alliance Air while 54 were operated by IAF. On international route, on April 7, Air India brought 6.14 tonnes of medical equipment from Hong Kong and lifted 8.85 tonnes of supplies to Colombo," the statement added.

As part of India's war against Covid-19, the Civil Aviation Ministry had launched Lifeline Udan flights on March 26 for movement of medical and essential supplies across the country and beyond.

At present, no foreign or domestic passenger flight operations are allowed in the country.