WHEN THE COVID-19 pandemic started sweeping the world in spring 2020,many airlines rapidly repurposed the cabins of their passenger aircraft to carry urgently required cargo, including medical supplies.Certification agencies worked with manufacturers to issue supplementary type certificates (STCs) enabling airlines to carry freight in the cabin by loading it on the seats, carrying it inside overhead bins and sometimes completely removing seats to create capacity.One operator, Emirates SkyCargo, said that since the pandemic began it has operated more than 3,100 flights with cargo on seats and in the overhead bins and carried 11,000 tonnes of vital equipment, equivalent to cargo transported on 800,000 aircraft seats.Although vaccination programmes are under way in several countries, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to firmly grip many others. Emirates SkyCargo said it "continues to witness a significant demand for the transportation of PPE and other cargo inside the aircraft cabin".
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