State-of-the-art artificial grass machines delivered to the Netherlands on IL-76 charter

Chapman Freeborn have successfully coordinated the charter of an Ilyushin IL-76 to transport two 9-ton artificial grass machines from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) in the Netherlands.

The artificial grass machines – used earlier in the year to prepare pitches for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil –  were flown in from Singapore where they were being used at the country’s new 55,000 capacity national stadium.

The 9-ton, 9-metre long track-laying machines use patented technology to inject artificial grass fibres into natural grass to achieve a more resilient finish to stadium pitches.

The charter was operated on a Volga-Dnepr Airlines IL-76TD-90VD and is another example of how Chapman Freeborn’s decades of expertise and willingness to go above and beyond resulted in the successful transportation of a potentially difficult piece of cargo.

Anton Lomakin, Senior Cargo Manager at Chapman Freeborn’s Singapore office commented on the operation:

“Unfortunately, technical drawings of the cargo do not exist and as there are only a handful of these machines in the world, everything had to be done manually. The cargo had to be measured by hand at the stadium in Singapore, and as the machine is fragile and a tight fit for the IL-76, our team had to work very closely with the loadmaster to ensure loading went smoothly.”

After the team had carried out a meticulous load assessment, the machines were able to successfully drive into the cargo hold of the IL-76 along a ramp extension.

Anton Lomakin continues:

“Whilst working under time-sensitive pressure caused by delays at the World Cup in Brazil, our team were able to execute a flawless flight and deliver the cargo safely and on schedule.”