FEMA funds 437 air shipments, FAA eases rules to speed PPE delivery

From March through June 2020 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) executed Project Airbridge, paying for 437 flights that moved roughly 1.2 billion personal protective equipment items - primarily gloves, masks and gowns - into the United States. The effort was intended to shorten shipment times during the early COVID-19 surge.

During the same period the Department of Transportation, through the Federal Aviation Administration, issued exemptions from selected regulations that permitted passenger air carriers to load cargo into aircraft cabins. Those regulatory relief measures expanded the capacity of commercial airlines to transport PPE by air.

Stakeholders interviewed by the Government Accountability Office reported using operational tactics such as "peel piles" at ports, where containers containing PPE were pre-sorted to accelerate unloading. Many expressed that additional federal intervention was unnecessary and could have introduced delays, noting that private-sector coordination was better suited to manage rapid movement of goods.

The GAO review, mandated by Public Law 118-159, examined how DOT, FEMA, HHS, the Department of Defense and the Federal Maritime Commission employed legal authorities to expedite PPE transport and captured industry views on those actions. The report covers the March 2020-May 2023 pandemic window and assesses whether a heightened federal role would have improved supply-chain outcomes.

Overall, the GAO findings document a coordinated federal response that leveraged air-transport capacity and regulatory flexibility, while also highlighting industry preference for market-driven solutions to expedite critical medical supplies.