Panalpina flies 1.6 million roses on 'Love Plane' charter from Nairobi to Sydney in time for Valentine’s Day

Love-struck Australians who want to give out roses for Valentine’s Day on February 14 have Panalpina and the Kenyan horticultural industry to thank. International freight forwarding and logistics company Panalpina has just flown an entire Boeing 777 cargo aircraft packed full of freshly cut roses from Nairobi to Sydney, right in time for the romantic holiday.

Kenya is one of the world’s largest exporters of cut-flowers, which represent the country’s second largest export commodity after tea, and Australia is one of the biggest Asia Pacific importers of the East African nation's famed roses.

The 'Love Plane' marks the first direct full freighter flight from Nairobi to Sydney with a Boeing 777F. And Panalpina is the first and only freight forwarder with this service offering in the market. The special delivery of 1.6 million roses follows the expansion of Panalpina’s cold storage facility in Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in November 2018, which will enable the company to move a projected 80,000 tons of flowers, fruit and vegetables in and out of Kenya by 2020.

“Some say love makes the world go round. Panalpina makes things go round the world, and we’re happy to make Valentine’s Day much more special for our friends down under,” says Quint Wilken, Panalpina’s global head of Air Freight Perishables.