(WWJ) - Delta is the latest airline to help tackle the baby formula shortage in the U.S. after the Biden Administration announced on Friday that the company will join United Airlines in flying over 3.2 million bottles of baby formula from London to Detroit and Boston.
As reported by Forbes, Delta will transport over 212,000 pounds of formula free of charge from Kendamil Nutricare in the United Kingdom from June 20 to June 24 to two destinations in the U.S. as part of the government's “Operation Fly Formula" to help parents struggling to feed their babies.
The 8-ounce bottles of baby formula will be received at Logan Airport in Boston and Detroit Metro Airport, the Biden Administration said, where they will be distributed to retailers nationwide and available for purchase online.
The shipment is the sixth such flight to be organized by the White House, officials said. The announcement comes one day after United Airlines transported 1.6 million bottles of Nestlé and 3.7 million bottles of Kendamil baby formula to Texas and Virginia on June 9.
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"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is exercising enforcement discretion so that Kendamil can import infant formula under the Kendamil brand," the White House said in a press release. "Kendamil will export up to at least 2 million cans of Kendamil infant formula – the equivalent of at least 54 million 8-ounce bottles to the United States."
The baby formula shortage began after supply chain issues coincided with the closure of the Abbott Laboratory site in Sturgis, Mich. when an alleged link was discovered between their product and a fatal bacterial infection.
The administration said they implemented "Operation Fly Formula" to help "speed up the importation of safe infant formula and start getting more formula to stores as soon as possible," after the shortage led to bare shelves in stores and sold out stock at online retailers.
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Under Operation Fly Formula, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Department of Defense (DOD) have partnered to male formula more available for struggling parents.
"The Department of Agriculture has made more types of formula available under its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program for low-income women and children, while the White House has invoked the Defense Production Act to reopen Abbott’s facility to restock shelves," the White House said.
“Operation Fly Formula” formally launched in May in an effort to help Americans struggling to find food for their babies: the operation works to bring in shipments of formula to the U.S. from different companies and countries around the world, including Germany and Australia.
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