Panalpina flies 1.6 mn roses from Nairobi-Sydney through direct freighter

Feb 13, 2019: Panalpina, the international freight forwarding logistics company, has transported 1.6 million of freshly cut roses from Nairobi to Sydney, using B777F aircraft for Valentine's Day.

The 'Love Plane' marks the first direct full freighter flight in this route making Panalpina the first and only freight forwarder with this service offering in the market. The special delivery follows the expansion of Panalpina's cold storage facility in Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in November 2018, which will enable the company to move a projected 80,000 tonnes of flowers, fruit, and vegetables in and out of Kenya by 2020.

"Some say love makes the world go round. Panalpina makes things go round the world, and we are happy to make Valentine's Day much more special for our friends down under," said Quint Wilken, Panalpina's global head of air freight perishables.

Kenya is one of the world's largest exporters of cut flowers, which represent the country's second largest export commodity after tea, and Australia is one of the biggest Asia Pacific importers of the East African nation's famed roses.