Cargolux transports 230 tons of artwork to Art Basel Fair

June 28, 2019: Cargolux Airlines has transported 230 tons of artwork from the United States to Basel, Switzerland ahead of the renowned Art Basel Fair 2019, in coordination with its forwarding partners Masterpiece, Dietl, and Hasenkamp.

The precious commodities were transported in 104 pallets, spread out over eight flights, three originating from Los Angeles and five from New York.

Jordan Starr-Bochicchio, manager, Art Fair Services at Masterpiece International, said: “We were very happy to have received all the attention necessary to execute such a large undertaking smoothly. It was clear that Cargolux took this very seriously, and committed the necessary resources and time required to make sure that everything happened as planned, at both JFK and LUX. We look forward to the next opportunity to work with your team on a project of this scale.”

Upon arrival in Luxembourg, the precious cargo was loaded on board 31 trucks for the final leg of the journey.

Christian Theis, global product manager for CV precious, explained: “We are thrilled to have been approached for this important and invaluable transport. Cargolux has a solid experience in the handling of sensitive commodities and is recognised in the industry as a leading provider of such services. Requests for sensitive shipments like this one reflect our customers’ trust in our service offering.”

The art pieces will be exhibited at the Basel Messe for a week and comprises the work of about 4,000 artistes from around the globe. Premium international galleries lend their pieces for the event, which attracted over 90,000 visitors for the last edition.

Cargolux has developed a portfolio of tailored transport solutions including a dedicated product to cater for sensitive and highly valuable commodities such as artwork. The solution, which was devised to ensure safe handling, includes temperature controlled as well as secured storage rooms. Highly trained teams also supervise the loading and off-loading to guarantee traceability throughout the transport process.