Airline passengers have been a rarity recently. Cargo, however, is still very much a transport necessity.

Here's what Scoot decided to do about the new air travel reality.

A four-day modification was carried out to remove passenger seats, installation of placards to demarcate areas where cargo can be placed, and the uplift of additional fire extinguishers.

Before:

After:

This doubled carrying capacity to nearly 20 tonnes.

The first cargo charter flight by the modified A320 aircraft took off on August 22, 2020 from Fuzhou to Singapore.

For flights operated with this aircraft, there will be a minimum of two pilots and two cabin crew on board to ensure safety, as well as manage any inflight emergencies.

This modified aircraft transported a total of 13 tonnes of cargo in both the hold and cabin, comprising mainly goods for daily use, and has four more flights scheduled for the rest of August.

Another A320ceo aircraft is scheduled to undergo similar modification works this week.

To date, Scoot has operated more than 200 cargo charters to and from 10 cities, namely Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Kunming, Nanjing, Perth, Sydney, Taipei, and Wuhan.

Top image from Ong Ye Kung's Facebook page.