Turkish Cargo carries 1.5 million live fish to Oman from Izmir

Published: Sunday, April 1, 2018

Performing air cargo transportation to 121 different countries around the world as a sub-brand of Turkish Airlines, Turkish Cargo added another successful operation to its proven track of records. Turkish Cargo carried 1,5 million live Gilt-head breams weighing 100 tons to Oman from Izmir by providing the environment, needed by the fish underwater, above the clouds.

Providing substantial contributions for the Turkish exporters to introduce their names in different markets with its enhanced services and new destinations added to its flight network recently, Turkish Cargo achieved this successful operation to carry 1,5 million Gilt-head breams, grown in the Aegean Region by Kilic Holding equipped with the highest fish growing capacity across the Europe, to Oman.

During this cargo flight carried out by means of Boeing 777F wide-body freighter on charter basis and accompanied by aquaculture engineers, pH balance, oxygen and water temperature levels of baby gilt-head breams were checked every 1 hour.

Delivering a statement on this cargo flight operation, Mr Turhan Ozen, Chief Cargo Officer at Turkish Airlines, said: “The live fish of 100 tons were required to be transported to Oman from Bodrum in a maximum period of 40 hours. They were first taken to trucks and carried to Izmir in 3 hours upon completion of the initial preparations, and then, they were loaded in our freighter equipped with special techniques by our cargo handling officers. They were carried to Oman from Izmir in 3 hours, so, we were able to carry them within 24 hours in total. We accomplished this operation by means of our Boeing 777F type freighter in accordance with IATA LAR (Live Animals Regulations), reinforcing our success in transportation of live animals requiring an utmost level of care. Carrying 1,5 million live fish by means of a freighter requires accurate air-conditioning, and expertise in oxygen and temperature checks. Furthermore, this carriage operation fell under the status of transportation of dangerous goods due to the oxygen cylinders utilized. We could provide the environment required for health of the fish, and meet the requirements of the operation thanks to our expert team and the assurance by Turkish Cargo. We, as Turkish Cargo, will keep standing by the Turkish exporters at all times.”

Acting in accordance with the principle of ‘delivering as soon as possible’ in cargo operations, Turkish Cargo provided a beyond-expectations service during this operation, contributing to the supply chain of marine products, and thus, the Turkish economy.

Turkish Cargo has an adequate freighter fleet and a globally-effective flight network to readily meet the requests for importation of live fish from many Arab countries such as Tunisia, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and builds up trust for special cargo.

Mr. Serkan Ilgaz, Executive Vice President, Production at Kilic Holding, said: ‘’We are standing as the only company performing sea fish imports operations from Turkey. We carried approximately 1,5 million baby gilt-head breams to the Indian Ocean off the coast of Oman in shorter than forty hours, and performed our first shipment with Turkish Cargo. We hope to keep developing our cooperation with our flag-carrier airline in the new achievements in future.”

Standing as the dynamic brand across the cargo industry managing its operations in accordance with the guidelines published by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), Turkish Cargo exercises maximum care in all transportation operations for live animals, and maintains the best safety, comfort and hygienic conditions with its well-trained personnel. 

About Turkish Cargo:

Turkish Airlines, which has operated its first international air cargo shipment in 1936, is a 4-star airline company operating flights to more than 300 destinations around the world by its fleet comprising of 328 aircraft (airliners and freighters) at the present. Turkish Cargo, a sub-brand of Turkish Airlines, has been maintaining the cargo services of the said airline company since the beginning of the 2000s. Further information about Turkish Cargo, which has been growing the fastest internationally and which offer air cargo transport to the highest number of countries around the world, is available on www.turkishcargo.com.tr