Dubai: Tonnes of fresh flowers were transported by Emirates Skycargo to Dubai in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the airline said on Tuesday.
Emirates Skycargo also unveiled a decal featuring a rose on one of its Boeing 777-F freighter aircraft ahead of Valentine’s Day. The decal highlights the strong contribution made by the carrier to the floriculture industry through the transport of fresh flowers across the world.
One of the first ports of call for the aircraft will be Nairobi in Kenya, where the aircraft will be loaded with a consignment of flowers headed to Amsterdam — the world’s largest flower distribution centre.
Amsterdam is the home of Aalsmeer — the world’s largest flower auction house.
In the week leading up to Valentine’s Day Emirates Skycargo operated four freighters in addition to the daily freighter service from Nairobi, Kenya, carrying nearly 350 tonnes of flowers into Amsterdam.
Additional capacity was also deployed to supplement the thrice weekly freighter service between Quito in Ecuador and Amsterdam in order to cater to Valentine’s Day demand.
The transportation of flowers by the air cargo carrier is a year-round activity, but there was a marked increase in the volume of flowers — roses in particular — being transported around Valentine’s Day.
Every day, Emirates Skycargo transports fresh flowers across its global network of over 150 destinations. Last year, Emirates Skycargo transported over 70,000 tonnes of fresh flowers around the world.
The flowers are transported from major flower exporting countries such as Kenya and Ecuador directly to Amsterdam. Flowers are also transported from India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Zambia, and Ethiopia.
The journey of a flower usually begins in a farm where it is harvested by hand.
The freshly harvested flowers are then sorted, arranged in bouquets and hand-packed into boxes, which are then loaded on the aircraft.
In order to ensure maximum freshness and shelf life, the temperature in the cargo hold of the aircraft is maintained between 1-3 degrees Celsius.
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