Airlines deploy planes for quake relief work

Two of the largest air companies in China have set aside 15 passenger airlines, three cargo planes and three helicopters for rescue efforts taking place in Ya’an, Sichuan province, which was jolted by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Saturday morning.

China Southern Airlines, which has nine passenger airplanes, three cargo planes and two helicopters on call for the rescue efforts, has deployed a Boeing 737 from Zhengzhou to Luoyang to airlift emergency workers to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

According to Zou Yingping, a publicity official at the company, the aircraft arrived in Luoyang, in Central China’s Henan province, on Saturday afternoon and will fly two round trips to carry soldiers to the area hit by the disaster.

China Eastern Airlines, another major air carrier, has set aside six passenger planes and one helicopter for rescue efforts.

"By later today, we can have about 20 aircraft on call for rescue purposes," said Li Jiang, director of the Shanghai-based company’s publicity department. “We are in close contact with the earthquake rescue headquarters and are already on the move at their orders.”