The team at Intradco Global has successfully completed a large-scale charter operation to support an ambitious breeding project.

For the past 12 months, the team has been working closely with a client on a request to transport 2,200 pigs from Denmark to China.

Transporting this many live animals is no mean feat. Each pig weighs approximately 50 KGS for a total weight of 110,000 KGS.

Whenever the teams and subsidiaries at Chapman Freeborn receive a charter request, the core focus in finding a solution is its cost-effectiveness – this is because economic viability is the most significant contributing factor to winning or losing an opportunity. However, at Intradco Global, the team has an additional focus – the potential health and well-being of their VIP animal passengers. This affects the aircraft solution that the team presents to the client, as was the case with this project.

The necessity for safety and security onboard their flights has defined how Intradco does business – whether that’s designing comfortable, clean stalls or ensuring that animals are attended to with food and water at every step.

Due to the weight of the animals and the space required to transport them safely, the team’s calculations showed that multiple flights on a B777F would be the most suitable option for the client and their passengers.

In total, three rotations were completed on board the chartered B777F aircraft, transporting the entire consignment safely and efficiently to their new home in China. Before leaving Denmark, the pigs were quarantined for 30 days to ensure that they were healthy and fit for travel. All blood tests and health certificates were obtained and completed ahead of the flights.

Dane Riecker, Project Manager, Intradco Global says:

“It was great to be involved in another large transport project for live pigs. Three flights in the space of five days kept us busy with arrangements and meticulous planning.

Due to the large outbreak of Swine flu across China we are performing more of these projects to re-stock breeding farms throughout the country.

We have been working on and planning this specific project for over 12 months with the shipper so for sure it was great to be there and manage the project in person.

The pigs were most definitely flown in first class as the aircraft was only about 60% fully loaded, which allowed for increased spacing and ventilation to ensure good condition on arrival.

Also the tailor made watering systems inside of the crates allowed the pigs to have access to fresh water throughout loading, in-flight and during transport to the farm.”

Thanks to the dedication of the team and the support of everyone involved, the project was completed successfully, despite the challenges, restrictions and implications caused by the COVID-19 lockdown. This recent project goes to show that, when Intradco Global is involved, pigs can fly even if humans cannot!