Hawaiian Airlines team up with local nonprofit to bring over a million facemasks from China

The crew onboard the humanitarian cargo flight to and from Shenzhen, China. (Courtesy Hawaiian Airlines)

 

By Alfred Acenas
EBC Hawaii Bureau

HONOLULU, HAWAII (Eagle News) – A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 aircraft arrived at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Tuesday, April 21, at around 4:30 pm. Still void of passengers, the aircraft did receive a water salute by the city’s fire department because of the critical cargo it was delivering: 1.6 million facemasks.

Dozens of representatives from Hawaiian Airlines, nonprofit organization Every1ne Hawai‘i, and various other groups were on hand to welcome home the carrier’s charter flight that brought in much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect the state’s frontliners and residents from the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

Only eight Hawaiian Airlines crewmembers were selected for the three-day humanitarian mission between Honolulu and Shenzhen, China with a stop over in Seoul, Korea both ways. The wide-body jet had its cargo hold modified to maximize space in hauling the large shipment. The 1.6 million masks were contained in 800 cases, all weighing about 19,800 pounds (nearly 9,000 kilograms).

Upon landing in Honolulu, the charter plane delivering the 1.6 million facemasks was welcomed with a celebratory water “lei” as it taxied to its gate. (Courtesy Hawaiian Airlines)

 

The cargo containers carrying the masks were then unpacked and repacked in boxes that were loaded onto Every1ne Hawai‘i ‘s “mask mobiles” for complimentary distribution statewide.

According to Ever1ne Hawaii co-founder Robert Kurisu, not a single mask will be sold but instead will be distributed across the state free to vulnerable groups, including the homeless, the jobless, and low-income families with children. Partner groups that already work with certain communities will distribute them starting this weekend.

One of those groups is the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Center. Already engaged in food distribution, the West Oahu facility is expected to receive 50,000 masks to give out.

Kurisu did not disclose how much he and others paid for the masks. He did indicate that the money was donated by family foundations, corporations, and other entities; and that they paid for operational costs, including fuel and landing fees, while Hawaiian Airlines financed the crew and the plane.

Another 400,000 will be delivered by a third-party carrier in approximately two weeks.

According to its website, Every1ne Hawaii is a collaborative team composed of emerging leaders and influencers from all facets of the community, coming together for the purpose of engaging, empowering, and activating Hawaii’s next generation. Initially focused on promoting civic action leading to this year’s presidential election, the nonprofit recently redirected its efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the Aloha State.

 

Ground crews unloading the 1.6 million facemasks from the belly of the retrofitted Airbus A330 that landed in Honolulu on Tuesday, April 21. (Courtesy Hawaiian Airlines)

(Eagle News Service)