the cargo safely from Lyon airport to
Beijing on 30 May. "Especially the last
week before departure was incredibly
nerve-wracking, as we were still missing
a lot of information on the final
size and weights of various packages
at that point," says Oliver Hamacher.
"Everything just had to work and fit
and be organised through to the last
point and centimetre."
The delivery of the 54 boxes takes place
in time. And so, in the 21st calendar
week between Whit Tuesday, 25 May,
and Thursday, 27 May, twelve trucks with
a total weight of 88,005 kilos, each with
two drivers from three different locations
in Germany and France, set off for
the French customs office near Grenoble.
It was a tight squeeze, considering that
parts of the plant had only been completed
in this very calendar week. After
customs clearance, the delivery is made
to Lyon airport. In the early evening of
28 May, the last truck arrives at Lyon airport.
Immediately, the ground handling
begins - the unloading of the trucks and
the fine-tuning.
"The WFS people were super professional
and also the loadmasters from "Air
Bridge", who came to Lyon from Paris
for this loading, did a fantastic job," says
Hamacher. "When the last truck arrived,
my pulse went down for the first time
after days of tension. I knew: from now
on I can't do anything. I had done my best
up to this point, now the responsibility
lay with others."
With loading material, there are
93,775 kilos that have to be loaded into
the jumbo. Until 10 p.m. on this 29 May,
every last detail is planned. Nothing must
go wrong. "It was a Tetris game XXL," Hamacher
laughs.
14 hours later, the jumbo lands in
Lyon. From here it is to go to Beijing as
quickly as possible. There it is Sunday,
30 May, 12 o'clock. The last package is
loaded at 2.29 pm. At 15.10 the jumbo
takes off.
"Side cargo door closed, everything
inside, an incredible relief and a great
feeling," says Hamacher.
Will his nerves stand up to a similar
job again? "Absolutely. Anytime!"
Photos: © MBS
INSIGHT 3 . 2021 17