This was the case then the carrier has organized a complex charter flight for 146 heifers which was accomplished in partnership with ABC’s long-lasting partner, Intradco Global. The request would have been reviewed as a normal one were it not for the routing, with flight originating in Houston (USA) and final point in Bangkok (Thailand). ‘abc care’ team has started preparations long before the flight, scrutinizing every detail of the complex delivery and being in a constant dialogue with the customer to make sure that on a fixed day everything went smoothly.
The animals were grouped in 27 cow stalls, each securely stowed and lashed on the maindeck of Boeing 747-8F and flew more than 17,182 kilometers during 19 hours 45 minutes to its final destination in comfortable conditions. During the whole flight, ABC flight crew made sure that the internal temperature has been maintained in accordance with the required guidelines, within the range from 6 °C to 10 °C. Additional support was provided by the groom who made sure that all the cows felt safe and secure.
“We treat animals not like special cargo, but rather as very sensitive passengers who require extra care and attention. No matter how experienced and qualified our specialists are, with every flight we deepen our knowledge and learn from our experience, as each transportation is unique. This helps us in improving our services and mitigating the risks. A successful formula for the organization of such long-haul flight with live animals lies in the combination of expertise and experience of our ‘abc care’ team’ and operational capabilities of our unique Boeing 747-8 freighter. So far in 2019, we have achieved a four-fold increase in a number of charter flights with heifers and hope that will be able to contribute to this sector more in the months to come”, - highlighted Sergey Lazarev, General Director of AirBridgeCargo Airlines.
To guarantee well-being and safety of each animal on board the company has established Special Operational Procedures and is aimed at further reinforcement of its ‘abc care’ team with qualified specialists from all the departments involved in this complex transportation. For the first five months of 2019, ABC has safely delivered twice as many animals as it did in 2018. In 2019 the company has become a member of the Animal Transportation Association which strives for the safe and humane handling and transport of all animals worldwide.
