Seven days to plan and launch
Getting an operation of this scale and complexity off the ground in one week is unprecedented. It took extraordinary efforts from individuals and teams in every corner of our business.
Alongside our pilot community, our ground and flight operations, maintenance and engineering, strategy and planning, commercial, procurement, legal and finance teams worked around the clock to achieve the impossible in record time.
Securing overfly rights for the routing and approvals from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), getting permits and landing slots in Beijing, coordinating with handling agents and freight forwarders in Beijing and creating a schedule and roster for the extensive flying programme were just some of the hurdles overcome in seven days. These tasks normally take months to achieve.
The support and expertise offered by our partners in this endeavour, including IAG Cargo, the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) and its Safety and Technical Committee, and the IAA was instrumental.