During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Astral transported in excess of 15,000 tonnes of PPE, Testing Kits, Ventilators, and related products to over 40 countries in Africa confirms Charles Ngwalla, who recently took on the position of Alliances and Key Accounts Manager at Astral Aviation.
With the arrival of the first converted B767-200 Freighter in Africa, with a payload of 40 tonnes / 350 cubic meters, which will join Astral’s fleet in January 2021, Astral will offer an on-demand charter service for vaccines to Africa. This will complement Astral’s existing regional fleet of Boeing 727 Freighters, McDonald Douglas DC-9 Freighters, Fokker 50, and Fokker 27 Freighters to provide onward delivery to the end-destination from its Nairobi hub, according to Mr. Gadhia.
Astral’s home at the ultra-modern Africa Freight Services Terminal, at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, is GDP (Good Distribution Practices) Certified for Pharma-handling with capacity of 3000m2 of Cold Room facility, ranging from two to eight degrees and up to minus 20 degrees celsius. Additional capacity of 6,000m2 of cold-room facility is available on the air-side within the freighter-friendly airport according to Astral Chief Operating Officer, Michael Mutahi.
