Coronavirus spurs Delta Airlines subsidiary to start manufacturing face shields
Airline teams up with an affiliate of Georgia Tech to begin production
Delta Flight Products, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta, the world's second-largest airline, is teaming up with a non-profit affiliate of Georgia Tech to manufacture face shields to protect hospital workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The institute's Global Center for Medical Innovation will provide materials and designs to Delta, which will use its manufacturing facilities to deliver an initial order of 2,000 shields to aid workers in New York by Friday, and an additional 4,000 for Atlanta-area hospitals in the next few days.
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“Our entire team is rallying around this effort. It’s a meaningful way we can show our support for the health care workers working around the clock to protect us,” Rick Salanitri, president of Delta Flight Products said in a press release announcing the move. “Georgia Tech and GCMI have been an incredible partner and we are proud to help carry out the vision of so many leading medical innovators to supply desperately needed personal protective equipment.”
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With the dwindling inventory of N95 masks, face shields are seen as essential to help protect healthcare professionals from contamination.
Delta Flight Products is serving as an initial manufacturing site to test GCMI’s design and prescribed fabrication process, and is exploring expanding its face shield production beyond this initial order.