National Airlines has completed its longest-ever cargo flight, transporting a critical aerospace component nearly 9,850 miles non-stop from Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) to Melbourne Airport (MEL).
The mission was also the longest commercial cargo flight operated by a B777F anywhere in the world.
The nearly 20-hour flight, which took off from PIK on August 4, was operated using the carrier’s new Boeing 777 freighter in response to an urgent aircraft on ground (AOG) requirement.
Brokered through Golden Aviation, the operation required the aircraft to be positioned at Prestwick at short notice before carrying the component directly to Melbourne.
Jules Matteoni, chief executive of PIK, said: “Glasgow Prestwick combines unrestricted operations with experienced in house teams and direct access to an established aerospace cluster, allowing us to support complex, and time critical missions at short notice.”
Alan White, chief growth officer of National Airlines, said: “More than record setting, this historic mission further demonstrates the airline's ability to deliver mission-critical cargo anywhere in the world, combining speed, operational excellence, and global reach.
“Our flight operations, maintenance, dispatch, and ground teams are equipped to position freighter fleet within hours of a such customer enquiry and execute unique, time-critical missions with exceptional precision.”
White also thanked the Prestwick team for its “operational flexibility and specialist support” in handling the AOG component and ensuring the flight departed on schedule.
David Giles, director of operations at Golden Aviation, described the operation as a “go-now” B777F charter that required stakeholders to arrange landing, handling, parking, processing, loading, refuelling and slots over the weekend.
“The team at Prestwick delivered a flawless operation from start to finish, ensuring the aircraft was handled efficiently and departed exactly as scheduled,” he said.
“They were a real safe pair of hands throughout, and this time-critical charter simply would not have been possible without their professionalism, responsiveness and willingness to move quickly across every aspect of the ground handling operation.”
PIK sits at the centre of the Prestwick aerospace cluster, which includes aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, engineering and air traffic management expertise.
