The challenge was not only to find aircraft capacity, but to engineer the right solution around heavy cargo, tight timelines, aircraft limitations, permit requirements, and specialist handling needs. Across China, Oman, Spain, Qatar, the UAE, and the Netherlands, ISS GF teams worked together to turn complex operational constraints into two successfully executed movements.

The first operation was undertaken for a leading organisation in Oman’s energy sector, requiring the movement of 100 tons of cable reels from China to Muscat. Beyond securing air freight capacity, the customer required technical guidance on the optimal cargo combination for the aircraft. Under the leadership of Mr. Dexter Fonseca, Global Head of Air Freight, the air freight teams in China and Oman developed a final load plan comprising 8 cable reels of 8 tons each and 10 cable reels of 3.5 tons each.

The cargo was trucked from Shanghai Pudong to Nanjing, before being uplifted on a full B747F charter from Nanjing to Muscat, carrying 18 pieces with a total weight of 95.8 tons. To ensure the charter flight permit was secured within the customer’s deadline, the team mitigated risk by selecting an operator that had operated multiple flights into China within the previous two weeks.