Tonnes of medical supplies are to be loaded onto a China Southern Airlines flight for New York at an airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on April 24, 2020. (Provided to Xinhua)

China Southern Airlines, the country's largest air carrier, is now sending 185 international cargo flights weekly to support the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to the airline.

Among the total, around 120 flights are carried by all-cargo airplanes, and the others are carried by passenger aircraft converted for cargo missions.

As of April 23, China Southern has completed 255 flights that were carried by passenger airplanes for cargo missions, sending 2,930 tonnes of freight to more than 22 countries and regions worldwide, the company said.

Guangzhou-based China Southern is the largest air carrier in Asia. By the end of 2019, it operated a fleet of more than 860 airplanes, including passenger aircraft and all-cargo freighters.

China's civil aviation authority has been making constant efforts to ensure air cargo transport of supplies for the global fight against COVID-19, by opening "green channels" for cargo flights.

China Southern moved fast to further upgrade the air cargo capacity and ensure supply chains. On March 29, the airline introduced its passenger airplane specially for cargo missions.

Carrying 17.6 tonnes of cargo, the airline sent its first such flight -- a passenger plane with all seats removed -- to Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur on April 3.

Then, the airline started extending its cargo flight network to serve the Chinese and global market for emergency supplies transport.

To date, China Southern's international cargo flight network has reached Europe, North America, Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, West Asia and Southeast Asia.