AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) flew 66 baby giraffes on a charter flight from South Africa to China, via the Russian cargo carrier's Moscow Sheremetyevo hub.
The 'tower' of giraffes, collectively weighing around 38 tonnes, travelled on an ABC Boeing 747 freighter (pictured below) at the end of July from South Africa’s O.R. Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg to Zhengzhou, China, via Moscow, on their way to animal parks.
Said ABC in a statement: "With each giraffe up to three meters in height, special transportation containers were provided by the customer to ensure their comfort, safety and well-being throughout the transportation process.
"The long-necked animals travelled in groups of three in each container and were accompanied by animal specialists as well as a plentiful supply of water and nutritious food during their journey."
A team form airline’s specialist live animals service – abc CARE – ensured all of the flight and handling procedures were organised in compliance with IATA’s Live Animals Regulations and completed the required documentation for the transportation.
Sergey Lazarev, general director of ABC, said: “Each time we organise a dedicated charter flight with live animals onboard, we fully understand the high level of our responsibility to ensure their safety and well-being.
"We also must show our customers that their trust is us as experienced logistics practitioners for such important cargoes is well placed and in full compliance with international industry standards.
"In the first half of 2018, we witnessed an 18% increase in the transportation of live animals, which reflects our reputation as a proven and reliable service provider for these specialist air cargo services.”
Jasmine Zhang, airfreight manager of BSI Logistics (Tianjin), ABC’s customer for the flight, stated: “We're happy to see our lovely giraffes starting their new lives in China. Thankfully, they are all safe and healthy. We really appreciate ABC’s hard work, professional assistance and support. We think our best choice is to choose your charter service for our next shipment.”
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