Antonov Airlines transported stage and concert equipment for Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour from Australia to New Zealand then onto Japan.
Two Antonov AN-124-100s were used to ferry the singer’s light-show system and equipment from Brisbane to Auckland to Tokyo for the final leg of her global tour.
Rock-It Cargo was the freight forwarder for the 2018 Taylor Swift Tour, and CEO David Bernstein says: “After evaluating all of the aircraft and air carriers capable of fulfilling the operational requirements of our client’s schedule, which required the uplift of 576 metric tonnes within 36 hours from Brisbane to Auckland, it became clear that the Antonov Airlines operated AN-124 aircraft was the ideal aircraft for the mission.”
He adds: “The roll-on, roll-off capability of the AN-124 combined with the impeccable planning and coordination provided by Graham Witton and the entire Antonov Airlines team, resulted in an early delivery of all the gear to the Auckland concert venue.”
Antonov Airlines UK managing director, Graham Witton says the AN-124-100 was the obvious choice to transport the cargo.
He says: “We met the challenge of an intense back-to-back concert schedule, and we sent out two crews to Australia to ensure that both aircraft could operate three rotations without any break for 24 hours.”
The two aircraft flew nine flights with six taking off from Brisbane and three leaving Auckland for Tokyo’s Narita airport.
