Operation Fly Formula: United Airlines Donates Flights to Ship Baby Formula from the UK to the US

The White House announced that United Airlines would transport the third shipment of "Operation Fly Formula" carrying Kendamil Infant Formula from Heathrow Airport in London to the United States.

United Airlines has agreed to transport the milk formula free of charge and will ship more than 300,000 pounds or around 3.7 million eight-ounce bottle equivalent of the infant formula. The White House stated that the major airline would start shipping on June 9 and transport milk from the U.K. to various airports in over three weeks. The flights are part of the "Operation Fly Formula."

Flying in Kendamil Formula

Kendamil formula, a U.K.-based formula manufactured by Kendal Nutricare, recently announced plans to export two million cans of infant formula to the U.S. The milk will be distributed and can be purchased at selected U.S. retailers nationwide and online. This shipment will be available at Target stores across the country in the coming weeks.

As per The Hill, the White House also announced that the Australian company Bubs would ship around 4.6 million 8-ounces of milk formula bottles to Pennsylvania and California on June 9 and 11, respectively. Bubs will send several infant formula varieties, including "easy to digest" goat's milk and specialty formulas.

"Operation Fly Formula"

The White House Launched the Operation Fly Formula to hasten the import of infant formula and get it to stores as soon as possible. The initiative has brought an equivalent of 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of infant formula to the U.S.

The first formula milk shipment came from Ramstein Airbase in Germany on May 22, and the military plane flew it to Indiana. FedEx then moved the formula to Nestle distribution center before it was distributed to hospitals, pharmacies, and doctor's offices.

The second shipment of baby milk formula, which carried 100,000 pounds or equal to 1 million 8-ounces bottles, arrived at Dulles Airport in Virginia. First lady Jill Biden welcomed the shipment that included specialized formula milk for infants allergic to cow's milk. Most of the milk will be distributed to hospitals and offered to families through prescriptions.

As announced by administration officials, the third shipment is from the Kendal Nutricare and will be shipped by United Airlines. The load is expected to be distributed to store shelves at the beginning of June, according to ABC News.

On Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden will also have a roundtable meeting with infant formula manufacturers, Human Health Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy for updates on improving the formula milk supply. Milk manufacturers expected in the meeting are representatives from ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo, and Gerber.

Notably absent from the list of participants is Abbott Nutrition. In February, Abbott closed its manufacturing factory in Sturgis, Michigan, after reports of serious bacterial infections in four infants. The move exacerbated the shortage of formula milk in the country as other milk manufacturers suffered setbacks due to pandemic supply chain issues.