Shipment of 108,000 lbs of baby formula arrives at Dulles Airport amid shortage

WASHINGTON (7News) — Another shipment of baby formula arrived in the U.S., with this round delivered to Dulles Airport on Wednesday amid a nationwide shortage, the White House previously announced.

The second "Operation Fly Formula" flight left Germany's Ramstein Air Base by FedEx plane Wednesday at 4 a.m. and was projected to transport 108,000 pounds of formula, according to Colonel Jens Lyndrup, commander of the 721st air mobility operations group at Ramstein Air Base.

Once the shipment is unloaded in Fairfax County, Va., the formula will be transported to a Nestlé facility in Pennsylvania via FedEx's integrated air and ground network.

The White House said the flight and trucking "will take place in the coming days."

The initial shipment of formula flown into Indiana on Sunday was 73,000 pounds.

SEE ALSO | 'Operation Fly Formula': Enough supply for 500,000 baby bottles arrives in US

While Biden initially requested that the Pentagon use commercially chartered aircraft to move the formula from Europe to the U.S., the White House said no commercial flights were available over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.

Instead, U.S. Air Force planes transported the initial batch of formula, the AP said.

Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Robert Califf was scheduled to testify before a House subcommittee Wednesday morning about the baby formula shortage, according to a new report.

In prepared remarks, Califf and other FDA officials will defend their handling of the inspection of a Sturgis, Michigan formula factory that was linked to bacteria and led to a Feb. 17 recall that exacerbated the shortage, the AP reported.

READ ALSO | Father says he drove over 1,000 miles to find specialty formula for his daughter

"[The President of the United States] announced the first two Defense Production Act authorizations for infant formula, the White House tweeted Sunday.

The closure of Abbott’s main factory in Sturgis is a primary driver of the empty shelves facing parents across the country.

ALSO READ | FDA officials, formula executives to defend formula shortage actions to lawmakers

U.S. regulators and the manufacturer, Abbott, hoped to have that Michigan plant reopened this week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery, the AP said.

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This report includes contributions from the Associated Press.