Air Cargo Management

IAG Cargo makes giant impression with dinosaur delivery

IAG Cargo has transported the most complete giant dinosaur ever discovered from Argentina to London’s Natural History Museum.

The cargo division of International Airlines Group safely delivered the skeleton cast of the titanosaur Patagotitan mayorum on a shipment from Buenos Aires to London Heathrow.

The titanosaur – which is around the same length as a British Airways’ Airbus A320 aircraft or four double decker buses – will be displayed in the museum’s upcoming exhibition, ‘Titanosaur: Life as the biggest dinosaur’. IAG Cargo is the official exhibition logistics partner.

The cast was stored into more than 30 crates and transported in the belly capacity of two British Airways 787-9 aircraft, alongside four crates of real fossils including a femur bone measuring more than two metres.

The titanosaur is three times heavier than the Natural History Museum’s much-loved Dippy the Diplodocus skeleton cast, which is being loaned to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry this month for three years.

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“It is a privilege to partner with the Natural History Museum as the custodian of some of the world’s most important scientific artefacts,” said IAG Cargo’s chief commercial officer John Cheetham. “I want to thank our teams in Argentina and the UK who made this colossal task of transporting a 37-metre dinosaur a reality.”

Alex Burch, director of public programmes at the Natural History Museum, commented: “We’re pleased to have IAG Cargo as our exhibition logistics partner on this exhibition. As one of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the Earth, it is so important that we are able to showcase this cast to the public, connecting our visitors with nature and inspiring them to care for the large animals we share the planet with today.”

British Airways’ captain Simon Boswell said: “I and the entire team felt honoured and privileged to fly this unique artefact from Argentina to the UK, and it was really very special to have been able to carry this precious cargo on a British Airways’ aircraft. Working with our sister company IAG Cargo, we’re delighted to have been able to play our part in its safe onward journey.”

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