PANDEMIC NEWS UPDATE: Boeing to cut workforce; Virginia tests drones for no-contact delivery

By Cat Hofacker|April 29, 2020

Our weekly compendium of coronavirus news

• Boeing plans to reduce its workforce by 10% by the end of 2020, citing a “body blow to our business” from the reduced demand for air travel.
• A team of engineers from L3 Harris designed a low-cost ventilator in five days as part of the U.S. government’s Hack-A-Vent Innovation Challenge. Officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are testing a prototype of the design.
• Drone delivery company DroneUp of Virginia is partnering with UPS subsidiary Flight Forward to test no-contact delivery of medical equipment and other supplies to health care workers.
• Nearly 50% of respondents to a survey by the International Air Transport Association said they would “wait a month or two” to travel once coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
• A Boeing 747 Dreamlifter ferried 1.5 million medical-grade face masks from Hong Kong to health care workers in South Carolina. Future flights with the Dreamlifter converted cargo freighter and a 777 ecoDemonstrator are planned.