By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish Cargo, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, delivered 335 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 61 countries in 2021, the company said on Wednesday.
“By establishing a corridor between over 400 international destinations, we ensured that vaccines remained accessible for all,” said Ahmet Bolat, chairman of the company’s board and executive committee.
“Especially considering the low number of carriers flying to Africa, Turkish Cargo had an important mission to make sure people there could have access to vaccines,” he added.
The company carried the highest number of vaccine doses to Turkiye last year, followed by 100 million doses to Brazil.
Countries where more than 1 million vaccine doses were delivered included African nations such as Mauritania, Madagascar, Rwanda and Congo, read a company statement.
Among the vaccines transported by Turkish Cargo last year were 200 million doses of the Chinese CoronaVac jab, 120 million doses of the BioNTech vaccine and 12 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot, the statement said.
Turkish Cargo reached an 8% market share in the category of medical products during 2021, it added.