British Airways successfully transported the fossil remains of the largest dinosaur ever discovered from Argentina, where it was found, to the United Kingdom, according to IAG Cargo, the air cargo division of International Airlines Group.
On two scheduled commercial flights between Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini (EZE) airport, which serves the city of Buenos Aires, and London-Heathrow (LHR), the British carrier transported the skeleton of a Patagotitan mayorum, a dinosaur that inhabited the Earth during the Cretaceous period and whose remains were first found in 2012, in Patagonia.
The fossils will go on display at the Natural History Museum in London from 31 March. Authorities of the museum located in South Kensington last November confirmed IAG Cargo as its official logistics partner for the exhibition, which will end on 7 January 2024.
From Patagonia to London
The journey of the wreckage began in Trelew, a city in the Argentinean province of Chubut in Patagonia. There, a specialised team dismantled the skeleton and placed the pieces in forty boxes specially designed for this type of transport.
The remains (including a femur more than two metres long) were then transported to Buenos Aires, from where they left for London.
«I want to thank our teams in Argentina and the UK who made this colossal task of transporting a 37-metre dinosaur a reality», said John Cheetham, CCO of IAG Cargo.
«I and the entire team felt honoured and privileged to fly this unique artefact from Argentina to the UK, and it was really very special to have been able to carry this precious cargo on a British Airways’ aircraft», said Captain Simon Boswell.
See also: British Airways resumes non-stop flights between London and Buenos Aires
