Lufthansa Cargo’s Frankfurt Animal Lounge has celebrated its 10th anniversary with a ceremony with partners and customers at the Opel Zoo.
The animal lounge combines all areas including handling, animal coordination and veterinary services under one roof, with 50 employees and qualified animal caretakers working around the clock at the 4,000 m2 facility.
During the design stage attention was paid to ensure the animals’ stay would be as pleasant as possible with the facility being equipped with a non-slip asphalt floor, which is more comfortable than a concrete surface.
The loading area is weather protected and stations for import, export and transit are separated from each other to avoid contact between the animals.
Lufthansa Cargo COO and board member for operations, Soren Stark says: “Our highly trained employees, who provide for our animal guests every day with an incredible amount of dedication, passion and experience, are crucial to the excellent reputation of the Frankfurt Animal Lounge.”
More than a billion animals have been hosted over the years with ornamental fish the most frequent visitors, with 80 million coming through each year.
Lufthansa Cargo senior director of handling specials, Jorg Bodenroder says: “Many exotic species have already flown with us. From giraffes and hippopotamuses through to Mesopotamian fallow deer, Lufthansa has reliably risen to every logistical challenge to date.
“Of course, special memories include famous guests such as the two pandas Meng Meng and Jiao Qing sent by China’s President Xi Jingping to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as special animal envoys in 2017.”
The animal lounge is well equipped for horses with 42 large stalls with up to 28 square metres of space available on the ground for the 2,000 animals passing through annually.
Dogs and cats are also regular visitors with 39 small animal boxes and three separate quiet zones for cats giving them somewhere to retreat to.
The ‘Pet Premium’ product offers pets a special service with owners receiving photos if they wish to reassure them of how well the pet is being looked after, and someone is available to speak to the owner if needed.
