Last month, leading aircraft charter specialist, Air Charter Service, helped with the transportation of 36 huskies, along with their handlers, from Oslo, Norway, to Anchorage in Alaska, USA, to take part in the Iditarod sled race across the state.

Dan Morgan-Evans, Group Cargo Director at ACS, commented: “We were approached by a group of Norwegian competitors taking part in Iditarod – ‘The Last Great Race’, a 1,000-mile, 10-day, sled race from Anchorage to Nome in Alaska.

“Flying so many dogs involved a number of obstacles, including finding an airline that was happy to perform the flight and that could fly directly without a fuel stop, in order to prevent any added time that the huskies would have to spend in transit. We identified a Boeing B757-200F as the ideal aircraft – the payload was less than two tons, as it was just the dogs and their equipment, including dog food, vitamins, harnesses, and camping gear.

“The next challenge was to arrange for the handling agent in Oslo to bring in extra staff, securing an outdoor space for the dogs to stretch their legs before the flight, and ensuring we had all the correct health documents to operate (36 passports, 36 rabies certificates, 36 health certificates, and 36 CDC Permits for the US customs).

“One of our cargo team flew with the aircraft, the dog handlers and the huskies, to ensure everything went smoothly at both ends – we had secured airside access in Anchorage, so that the dog handlers could drive up to the aircraft and load the dogs for their short onward journey.

“Following the successful race, the dogs flew to Seattle on another charter, this time on a McDonnell Douglas MD-83F, before picking up their ride back to Europe on a scheduled flight.”