New Delhi, Apr 24 (IANS): The Centre on Thursday said that under the Lifeline Udan initiative, 339 flights have transported 587.57 tonnes of medical supplies across the country till April 22.

"339 flights have been operated under Lifeline Udan till date by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and private carriers in the domestic sector supporting the fight against COVID-19. 204 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air," the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said in a statement.

"Cargo transported till date is around 587.57 tons."

Besides, Blue Dart, SpiceJet and IndiGo are also operating cargo flights on a commercial basis.

On its part, SpiceJet operated 495 cargo flights from March 24 to April 22. Out of these, 166 were international cargo flights.

Similarly, Blue Dart has operated 169 domestic cargo flights from March 25 to April 22, while budget airline IndiGo has operated 35 cargo flights from April 3-22 carrying 84 tonnes of cargo.

The Lifeline Udan flights connect hubs in locations such as Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Agartala, Aizwal, Dimapur, Imphal, Coimbatore, Thiruvanthapuram, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Ranchi, Port Blair and Goa.

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.

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