United Airlines announced that it has transformed one of its cargo facilities at George Bush Intercontinental Airport into a food distribution center to aid the Houston Food Bank's efforts to feed families in need during the COVID-19 crisis. The idea to convert the cargo space came from employee, Mark Zessin, a United baggage team member. Mark is leading a team of hard-working employee volunteers at the facility.
Beyond the distribution centers, United team members across the system are finding ways to support COVID-19 first responders and those impacted by the virus. To date, United has:
- Donated more than 159,000 pounds of food to food banks, hospitals and other organizations from United's catering facilities and Polaris lounges
- Donated 2,800 amenity kits to healthcare workers on the frontlines providing aid
- Donated $100k worth of advertising space in London to UNICEF to support its education efforts around COVID-19 and protecting children around the globe
- Operated more than 355 cargo charter flights that have moved over 5.6M kgs of cargo (including PPE, medical equipment, mail and other general cargo)
- Operated nearly 100 repatriation flights returning nearly 17,000 people home who were stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Provided free flights for doctors, nurses and medical professionals traveling to New York, New Jersey and California to help battle COVID-19
United also stepped in to assist Roche Diagnostics with transporting a vital component for an instrument being used for COVID-19 testing. The component was stuck at EWR en route to the Mayo Clinic in Florida after another airline's flights were canceled. A Roche employee contacted United asking for help and, within a few hours, its teams had the piece loaded onto a Jacksonville-bound aircraft, with arrangements in place to deliver it to the Mayo Clinic. The item shipped will allow the Mayo Clinic in Florida to process hundreds of COVID-19 tests per day.