SAS Cargo moved Mao Sun and Xing Er the giant pandas from Beijing to Copenhagen on 4 April on flight SK996.
The pandas were moved from the Chengdu Panda base as a goodwill gesture from the president of China, Xi Jinping following Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark’s state visit to China in 2014.
Mao Sun and Xing Er travelled in two separate, customised boxes in the forward compartment of flight SK996, which was named Panda2 for the special flight.
Panda2, which was specially decorated for the occasion with images and names of the pandas, arrived on time at the Vilhelm Lauritzen terminal where media waited together with a reception committee of ministers, ambassadors and other VIP invitees.
Speeches were held while Mao Sun and Xing Er were moved from the aircraft to the specially decorated truck that took them to Copenhagen Zoo.
Leif Rasmussen, president and CEO of SAS Cargo Group says: “It was a great pleasure and honour to be part of this very prestigious transport. We have a long experience in transporting live animals and sensitive shipments, but this was of course a very special event with such dignitaries onboard.”
Bengt Holst, vice director and director of research and conservation at Copenhagen Zoo says: “It was a fantastic journey to plan and execute together with SAS Cargo. We could fully rely on their expertise, network and carefully selected partners in making sure Mao Sun and Xing Er got best possible care during the entire transport from Chengdu to Copenhagen.”
