Your next flight might be carrying Covid vaccines as United ships doses on passenger planes

United Tuesday said it has started transporting coronavirus vaccines within the US in the bellies of its passenger aircraft, as carriers’ role in distributing doses expands. Hours after the US approved the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for emergency use late Friday, logistics giants and passenger airlines began mobilizing distribution around the US, a feat that requires close monitoring of temperature since the vaccine must be stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature-controlled packages will have GPS tracking and other monitoring, shipping company executives said last week, while the FAA said planes carrying vaccines will get priority treatment. United’s first domestic passenger flights carrying the vaccine went out after federal regulators approved the vaccine, a United Airlines spokeswoman said. United Parcel Service and FedEx, partners in the Trump administration’s vaccine production and distribution initiative Operation Warp Speed, routinely turn to commercial airlines to fly packages and other goods their networks can’t handle. “We’re now continuing to meet with our partners to try to lay out a more scheduled flow of the vaccines,” said Chris Busch Monday. United declined to disclose the routing of the vaccines because it could violate agreements with customers like FedEx or UPS.<br/>