The Patriots are the only team in the NFL to have their own plane, and with the league being in the offseason and most other operations shut down, team owner Robert Kraft is putting them to good use.
The Patriots owner lended his Aero L-39 Albatros to fly to China, pickup over a million N-95 masks among other supplies from China, and fly back to the United States on Thursday afternoon.
National Guard will transport the equipment to a strategic stockpile once it lands back at Logan Airport in Boston.
No days off. Thanks to some serious teamwork, Massachusetts is set to receive over 1 million N95 masks for our front-line workers. Huge thanks to the Krafts and several dedicated partners for making this happen. pic.twitter.com/ieV6XMC5Ow
— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) April 2, 2020
Robert Kraft is using the New England Patriots team plane to transport one million N95 masks from China directly to Massachusetts hospitals.
The plane will arrive in Boston full of personal protective equipment this afternoon.
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) April 2, 2020
“It is an honor for our family to be a part of this humanitarian mission,” Robert Kraft said in a statement. “We knew that purchasing greatly-needed N95 masks and providing the Patriots plane to expedite their delivery to local hospitals would immediately help protect our courageous healthcare professionals. Multiple organizations across the public and private sectors, all of which were in lockstep with Governor Charlie Baker’s visionary leadership, worked together to execute this mission with the purpose of helping save lives.
“I truly hope that in doing so, we can in some way inspire others to find creative ways to give more in support of our doctors, nurses and first responders. It’s nice to care for those who provide such compassionate care for us.”
There are 8,750 confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts with 122 deaths thus far.
