Air corridor deal between Dubai and India to boost vaccine distribution

Dubai (Reuters) – Dubai Airports and the operator of Hyderabad airport, GMR Hyderabad, have agreed a logistics deal for COVID-19 vaccine distribution to handle up to 300 tonnes of vaccines per day, the companies said on Monday.

The vaccine corridor between Dubai and Hyderabad connects leading vaccine manufacturers in India with markets around the world through the Dubai International Airport cargo hub.

“A major surge in demand for the efficient, safe and reliable global distribution of high volumes of COVID-19 vaccines is expected in the coming months,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

“We wanted to be ready to respond to and accommodate that demand.”

Hyderabad is the world’s emerging vaccine capital, with five major vaccine producers in the vicinity.

India, which has the second-highest number of coronavirus infections in the world, on Sunday approved two coronavirus vaccines for emergency use –- one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, the other by local company Bharat Biotech.