Inbound Logistics | July 2026

Project Logistics: Stranger Than Fiction

BEAR NECESSITIES Lufthansa recently helped two brown bears, Gordo and Florencia, move from an under-equipped zoo in Argentina to a spacious sanctuary in Bulgaria. It took months of planning to pull off the rescue because both bears needed to go through crate training and veterinary checks before the journey could even begin. Once the bears were deemed ready, they boarded a Boeing 777 freighter in Buenos Aires under Four Paws veterinary supervision. The journey included a stop in Frankfurt, where the animals received supportive care in the Lufthansa Cargo Animal Lounge before continuing onward. From there, Lufthansa routed the bears through Soa rather than another European hub, providing a more direct path to Bulgaria. Gordo and Florencia have settled in at Bear Sanctuary Belitsa, a forested habitat operated by Four Paws and Fondation Brigitte Bardot.

THE CLOCK STARTS AT THE ORCHARD

Every spring, Indian communities in London, New York, and Frankfurt eagerly await the arrival of fresh mangoes shipped from home. Between March and May 2026, Air India moved more than 3,300 metric tons of fresh produce in the cargo holds of widebody aircraft on long-haul routes to those cities, including 1,000-plus metric tons of those coveted mangoes. Mangoes are not an easy fruit to ship across the globe. While some specialized cargo is hard to handle because of its size, mangoes are precarious because of their fragility and expiration dates. They bruise easily, require careful temperature management, and have a short window between peak ripeness and spoilage. Getting the fruit to diaspora communities abroad requires coordination between growers, cold chain handlers, and Air India’s cargo teams. During mango season, the Air India team is taxed with tting these perishable loads around other freight without sacricing either.

ROAD WORK REQUIRED When 38 complete wind turbine systems needed to travel from China to Ruisi, Georgia, Gianti Logistics heeded the call. The roads through the Caucasus mountains are unforgiving, and the team had to navigate narrow roads, steep mountain grades, and bad winter weather. In order to move the cargo through the rough terrain, Gianti Logistics had to widen roads, clear obstacles, and reinforce sections of the corridor. They also brought in equipment the country had never used before, including tower carriers, tower adapters, and extendable blade trailers designed for turbine loads. The planning process included route simulations and a full test run to conrm clearances. The rst vessel arrived at the port of Poti in Q3 2025. Over the following months, all 38 turbines reached Ruisi without incident.

152 Inbound Logistics • July 2026

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