Emirates SkyCargo transports 1,700 kg Buddha statue from Pakistan to Zurich

May 2, 2019: Emirates SkyCargo has carried a 2,000 year old statue of Buddha weighing 1,700 kilogrammes and measuring over 2 metres in height from the Peshawar Museum in Pakistan to Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Switzerland and back to home by Emirates.

Between December 2018 and March 2019, visitors to the Museum had the rare opportunity to come face to face with a colossal statue of Buddha. Emirates SkyCargo pulled out all the stops to make sure that the statue was transported safely in the bellyhold of its widebody passenger aircraft through handling processes and security measures outlined under Emirates Valuable, its specialised product for transporting precious goods. However, the air cargo carrier also had to do some out of the box thinking.

“Our standard procedures mention that any precious cargo has to be transported in secure metal door containers. However, for a statue of this size, this was not really an option. For us the priority was twofold, to ensure that the shipment was handled with utmost care to avoid any damage from impact and of course to ensure the security of the priceless statue. In the end we came up with the simple solution of affixing an Emirates tamper proof tape on the outer packaging of the wooden crate to make sure that we would not have any tampering of the shipment,” said Julius Mooney, commercial development manager – speciality products, Emirates SkyCargo.

The ancient Gandhara Buddha statue was given on special loan by the Peshawar Museum to feature in the exhibition ‘Next Stop Nirvana- Approaches to Buddhism’ at the Museum Rietberg. It was the first time that the statue had travelled outside of Pakistan.

Emirates SkyCargo also worked with Emirates Group Security and Transguard to ensure seamless security screening, handling and clearance for the statue. During its transit at Dubai International Airport, the statue was quickly transferred on the ramp to its connecting aircraft. With detailed planning and coordination with Emirates Network Control, Emirates SkyCargo ensured that the arriving and departing aircraft were parked in close proximity so as to avoid any long transit delays. The shipment was also monitored continuously by Emirates SkyCargo’s 24x7 operational cargo operations command centre to pre-empt and avoid any potential obstacles during transportation.

Emirates SkyCargo executed the first leg of the movement from Peshawar to Zurich in December 2018 and completed the return leg from Zurich in early April 2019.

“It was a landmark shipment for Emirates SkyCargo. Audiences in Switzerland had an opportunity to become familiar with an important part of Pakistan’s ancient heritage and Emirates SkyCargo had a part in creating this link between the two countries,” said Jassim Saif, Emirates vice president cargo commercial- West Asia and South East Asia.

“Emirates Group Security and Transguard worked closely with Emirates SkyCargo for the successful planning and the movement of this valuable statue. We have specialised and highly trained staff at Dubai and at all our stations, as well as comprehensive security protocols to ensure the safe and secure transportation of precious cargo,” said Abdulla Al Hashimi, divisional senior vice president, Emirates Group Security.

"Gandhara art played a significant role in the propagation of Buddhism around the world and Peshawar Museum, being the repository of the world’s richest and finest collection of Buddha statues, has a prestigious status in the eyes of art lovers. Our mission is to highlight the soft image of Pakistan throughout the world by exhibiting these masterpieces of art and the exhibition of colossal Buddha statue in Museum Rietberg is the beginning of a new era of friendship and cooperation," said Muhammad Asif Raza, curator of the Peshawar Museum.

Emirates SkyCargo transports a variety of precious and valuable items such as precious artwork, historical artefacts, high end consumer products such as luxury watches and jewellery on its fleet of over 270 aircraft across six continents. In 2018 – 19 fiscal, the air cargo carrier moved close to 2,500 tonnes of valuable products under Emirates Valuable. The air cargo carrier has transported artwork for museums in the UAE, Russia, UK, Australia and US, amongst other countries.