The shipment contained components ranging from four to 16 metres in length, one to three metres in width and two to four metres in height, and represented the terminal's largest airfreight shipment to date.
Delivery was managed by Sebenza Forwarding and Shipping, whose airfreight controller, Justin Naidoo, explained that spools are critical components in the production of fuel at oil refineries and the shipment contained superior grade replacement parts, making quick and efficient delivery essential. Landing rights were secured a few weeks prior to the AN-124's arrival and the aircraft took two and a half days to reach Durban's King Shaka International airport from Leipzig airport in Germany, having stopped to refuel in Cairo, Egypt and Mombasa, Kenya.
"Dube Cargo Terminal has invested in a specialised outsized cargo handling facility which is equipped with hoists, mobile cranes and conveyor systems to handle bulky or outsized shipments such as large pipes, outsized machinery, motor vehicles, large animals and ocean containers," commented Ricardo Isaac, Manager of Dube Cargo Terminal.
This infrastructure enables the terminal to be flexible in handling oversized cargo and accommodating specialised charter flights, as well as facilitating sea to air connections via the increased cargo capacity, flying directly to Durban. “We are confident that we will continue to stimulate more growth in the local market,” Isaac went on to say, adding: “In the last 12 months we have seen a steady growth in excess of 20% in cargo throughput."
