15 meters in the sky: HIGH class transportation

An outside observer can say: “What can be new in the operational work of logisticians - everything is already automated, the schemes are established, the route is known, just press the buttons and control that everything goes according to plan.” But even the most experienced logistician will answer: each transportation seems to make you re-learn the profession. You delve into the working details of all the links in the chain; learn new things about transport, for example, about the structure of an airplane; study the nuances of loading each specific cargo.

Nobody promised an easy way.

But what a pleasant aftertaste remains from complex and successfully implemented projects. Do you agree?

So, the first contender for the title of “Cargo – 2022” appeared in the experience of ACEX specialists - air transportation of large-sized structures for a nuclear power plant in China.

The total period for the implementation of ACEX in Moscow and Beijing (Sky Chain) joint project was 2 months and ended in February.

Irina Muryleva, Head of ACEX Air Transportation Department in Moscow:

“Last December, we received an order from our longtime partner and friend Sky Chain Worldwide Limited in China to supply equipment and assembly parts for the China Nuclear Power Corporation. None other than the state order!”

It seems nothing complicated, you need to load the cargo on the plane and deliver it, that's all. But!

The cargo had to be picked up from Nizhny Novgorod. As there are no direct flights from Nizhny Novgorod to China, ACEX specialists had to deliver the cargo to Sheremetyevo Airport, load it on board and send it to the final destination - Xizhou Airport, China.

As Irina Muryleva said, the most difficult thing in transportation was to work out the loading and unloading of 15-meter structures, taking into account the technical capabilities of the terminal.

ACEX logisticians were faced with the task of loading large-sized cargo onto the aircraft without harming the cargo and the aircraft itself. Standard methods in this case were inappropriate. Cargo for 7 places with a total weight of 24 tons and a length of 1533 cm is not so easy to load onto an airplane! Specialists had to resort to individual schemes for craning cargo, to apply non-standard solutions. One of which was to combine two aircraft pallets.

The next and very important decision was the opening of the nose of the aircraft. To do this, the board had to be on the ground for additional time. ACEX, together with the airline, coordinated this delay with the Russian-Chinese flight control center for three weeks. It would seem that there is nothing difficult in opening the nose of the aircraft! But this did not prevent the professionals in their field from successfully coping with the task. The cargo took off from Sheremetyevo and landed safely at the Xizhou airport.