The types of cargoes are as many and varied as the shapes and sizes of the passengers upstairs. Some cargoes are a little more unusual than others.

Apparantly a popular dish in Belgium is Eel and Spinach Stew ( probably why there aren't too many Belgian Restaurants ! ) and New Zealand Eels are very well regarded.

To travel by air, the Eels are gradually cooled down until they reach a state of "suspended animation" where their heart rate slows right down. They are alive but not moving. They are warmed up again on arrival ensuring a fresh Eel every time !

On one famous occasion the Air New Zealand ramp handler dropped a pallet containing 3000 kilos of "suspended eels" onto the tarmac at Auckland Airport. On hitting the warm surface they woke from their slumber - and somewhere in the Manukau Harbour there live a group of Eels that were saved from the stew !!

Bees are another unusual cargo. Particularly in the days when New Zealand was Bee - Disease - Free.

Bees are loaded into wooden boxes - with many small airholes, and then loaded onto airline pallets. The trick with Bees is to ensure that there is plenty of air circulating around them - and they are kept in cool conditions. If Bees get hot they start to get agitated, them more agitated they get the hotter they get and so on until the heat generated by all the angry Bees overpowers them and they die.

A pallet of Bees makes a huge noise ( you can hear it coming from a long way away ) The biggest hazard with sending Bees are the "hanger on" Bees that don't want to be separated from their mates. They tend to stay on the outside of the boxes - and have been known to sting innocent storemen !!

Horses are big travellers - although they usually travel on freighter aircraft.

They are loaded into metal horse stalls, and always have an attendent with them. His primary job is to clean up any messes that nervous horses may make in-flight. It's a long way from First Class !!

I'm sure that you have all heard of sending Coals to Newcastle - and in the years I have done Airfreight there have been a few of those type shipments - including Stuffed Lions to South Africa, Ice to Iceland, Oil to Saudia Arabia, and last week - Sand to Tahiti !!

Have a nice flight !!!

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