An all-cargo chartered flight carrying over 20 tons of medical supplies collected from across China took off on Monday from the Xianyang International Airport in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for Leipzig, Germany. 

This was the first of 14 cargo chartered flights to transport a total of 300 tons of Chinese medical supplies to Germany, where they will be redistributed to destinations including other European countries to aid their fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The chartered flight operated by Russian Atran Airlines was also the first cargo flight to Europe from Xi'an since the outbound flights had been suspended due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus in China. 

The first batch of medical supplies includes 2.08 million pairs of medical gloves and 30,870 protective clothes. The ensuing flights will send such supplies as face masks, protective clothing and ventilators, to Europe. 

China has coordinated airports, customs, freight forwarders and airlines for swift delivery of the medical supplies.