Photo@ QR Cargo
Qatar Airways Cargo (QR) is betting on stay animal transport: it has spent “a lot” on a brand new stay animal transport centre which has elevated its dealing with capabilities by 150,000 animals a yr.
The service might have a degree: the animal transportation market is set to grow at a CAGR of 5.07% from 2023 to 2028. That information contains livestock, which is usually transported by ship and accounts for just below half the overall market. But pets – which are likely to fly – make up about one third of the market. This too is seeing robust development, growing from a $1.8bn market final yr, to CAGR of 9.5% between 2024 and 2032.
And then there are horses, a favorite of Middle Eastern carriers. The international horse racing market is ready to almost double in measurement between 2023 and 2030, to about $794bn, suggesting demand for the high-margin transport business is unquestionably on the rise.
Those figures clarify the scale of QR’s new facility — at 5,260 sq. meters it the world’s largest air cargo animal facility and equates to about half the realm of a Manhattan metropolis block. It has the capability to deal with 550,000 stay animal shipments a yr.
It boasts 140 canine kennels, 40 cat kennels, and 24 stables throughout 4 zones. Last yr QR transported roughly 10,000 horses all over the world.
“As you know, we are the largest carrier of live animals in the world. We have now built the largest facility in the world,” chief cargo officer, Mark Drusch, instructed visitors on the animal centre press convention yesterday.
The Middle East specifically has a give attention to horse transport, the place margins are good.
Indeed, the power won’t solely enhance QR’s dealing with capability, but it surely additionally will increase the standard of care that the animals obtain throughout transit, claimed the airline.
And whereas QR declined to reveal the precise quantity spent, Mr Drusch instructed The Loadstar that the brand new facility required a hefty funding.
“All I will tell you is we spent a lot,” he mentioned.
He added that the service had already seen an uptick of curiosity from stay animal shippers, together with for horses and day-old chicks,
“I want them to use us, absolutely, but both for the business reasons and for the animals’ [welfare].”
Mr Drusch’s private love of animals – he has been a board member for 2 US zoos – has translated into the small particulars of QR’s new facility, all the way down to particular music to chill out the animals and not less than 4 on-site vets 24/7.
QR Cargo’s new stay animal facility
QR can also be embracing digitalisation to streamline the transit of stay animals. This features a ‘Kennel Calculator Tool’, which determines the perfect kennel measurement for a pet and ensures compliance with IATA’S stay animal regulation (LAR) requirements.
According to QR, providing digitalised LAR coaching will even guarantee speedy workers compliance and proficiency in animal dealing with.
IATA member airways should adjust to the LAR requirements for the acceptance and carriage of stay animals in full plane hundreds. QR was the primary airline to obtain the Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) stay animals certification.
The Middle Eastern service underwent its final CEIV LAR compliance examine in 2022 and is due for a assessment this yr.
QR opened its earlier stay animal dealing with facility in 2014, however constructed the brand new facility from scratch lower than 10 years later.
Mr Drusch mentioned: “We learnt a lot. When I first joined cargo three months ago, I was taken through this and told ‘here’s what we learnt, and that’s what we’re building at the new facility. So, the good news is, we’re always improving.”
He pointed to the padded ground on the horse stables, an upgrade from the onerous flooring in its old centre. This reduces noise and subsequently stress to the animal.
The facility began its official stay animal dealing with operations on 12 March.
