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pOlITICAlly RElEVANT SHIpMENT ORDER: UN
TRANSpORT VEHIClES FOR SyRIA
Markus Lingohr, Hellmann Dusseldorf
At the beginning of May our long-term,
Berlin based partner in air freight “Flying
Wheels” was given contract with very
unique terms that put it in the middle
of a political predicament. The contract
was for the transportation of 25 armored
Toyota Land Cruisers from Leipzig to the
Syrian capital of Damascus. The SUV’s
would then be utilized by United Nations
(UN) soldiers and staff for the planned observing
mission in the war-torn country.
As in most cases of air freight, time was both
the deciding and challenging factor. The contract
was presented to Flying Wheels on 8th
May, the decision on whether or not to accept
the contract would have to be made by May
11, 2012 and in accordance with the specifications
outlined by UN headquarters in New
York, the SUV’s must arrive in Damascus by
the following day on May 12, 2012.
“We immediately worked feverishly to
purchase suitable cargo aircraft", explained
Managing Director Rainer Landgraf.” At ACS
Air Charter Service in Frankfurt, we finally
found a solution." Two Airbus A300F and
a McDonnell Douglas MD11 were commissioned
for the assignment.
Of course even with the acquisition of the
necessary aircraft, there was still much to do.
As is often the case with aircraft, it is necessary
to acquire certain landing permits and in
situations in which there is a crisis occurring
this can be quite difficult, and Syria presented
no exception. Despite the support and backing
of the UN, permission to land was not
granted in either Leipzig or Damascus until
the last minute.
On May 11, 2012, the two Airbus planes
were loaded at the Leipzig airport. The transport
utility vehicles were loaded into the cargo
room of each aircraft in groups of 6, with
each vehicle weighing 5.3 tons, the combined
weight came up to about 31.8 tons per plane.
The next challenge Flying Wheels was faced
with, was during the loading of the third
airplane. The plane in question, an MD11
from Nairobi, finally arrived in Leipzig after
a 4 hour delay.
Our colleagues at Hellmann Damascus
were kept informed about the status of the
loading process in Leipzig and were able to
make preparations for the offloading process
in Damascus in an effort to make up
for the delay.
On Saturday morning, May 12, 2012, the
final Airbus landed at Damascus, and the
second arrived shortly thereafter at noon.
The last plane, the MD11 landed at 6 PM
and the last vehicle was delivered at exactly
11:45 that evening, thus fulfilling the UN’s
contractual requirements: that all the vehicles
are to be delivered by May 12, 2012.
Congratulations on the perfect delivery!
“Our thanks also go out to our colleagues at
Hellmann Damascus, the loading crew Port-
ground in Leipzig, the chartering firm ACS in
Frankfurt and the truck drivers who brought
the armored vehicles to Leipzig”, said Rainer
Landgraf on behalf of Flying Wheels. “All
parties have worked with the precision of a
Swiss timepiece in ensuring the success of the
completion of the contract. Many thanks!”
Bildunterschrift
partner 02/12