Zoo wants to be a “billion-by-air”? Frankfurt animal lounge does
21 / 09 / 2018
Lufthansa Cargo’s Frankfurt Animal Lounge opened ten years ago and since then has booked in more than a billion special guests at Europe’s largest animal station.
Jörg Bodenröder, senior director of handling specials at Lufthansa Cargo, said: “Many exotic species have already flown with us. From giraffes and hippopotamuses through to Mesopotamian fallow deer, Lufthansa has reliably risen to every logistical challenge to date.
“Special memories include famous guests such as the two pandas Meng Meng and Jiao Qing sent by China’s President Xi Jingping to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as animal envoys in 2017.”
Lufthansa Cargo said that “more than a billion animals of all kinds” have been hosted over the years, the most frequent visitors including ornamental fish, with some 80m coming through each year.
The Animal Lounge is also well equipped for horses, including 42 large animal stalls with up to 28 sq m available for 2,000 animals that pass through annually, while new, premium-quality horse containers are used inflight.
The premium partnership with the German Equestrian Federation (FN) emphasises Lufthansa Cargo’s special expertise in transporting sports, breeding and leisure horses.
Dogs and cats, some 15,000 annually, are also regular visitors, housed in 39 small animal boxes.
The animal station contains export, import and transit areas, all physically separated from each other to avoid any contact between animals being exported and imported.
The individual areas can, in turn, be subdivided into multiple zones to prevent certain animals from seeing or hearing each other if necessary.
Ornamental fish can be examined under black light and specialists are available in the case of an emergency.
There are 18 individually temperature-adjustable climate-controlled chambers available for all kinds of species, and there are four special aviaries.
Sören Stark, chief operations officer for Lufthansa Cargo, told representatives from animal shipping companies at a special event held at Opel Zoo: “Our highly trained employees, who provide for our animal guests every day with an incredible amount of dedication, passion and experience, are crucial to the excellent reputation of the Frankfurt Animal Lounge.”
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