IRT’s First Point Animal Services facility at Melbourne Airport. At present, trans-tasman flights will only run between Auckland and Sydney.
© EQ Life/IRT
By Equestrian Life
A test flight from Auckland to Sydney with a small group of horses has been successful.
New Zealand Bloodstock’s (NZB) airfreight division conducted the flight with all travelling staff in full PPE; in-flight grooms did not leave the plan in Sydney. All of the grooms had to have negative Covid-19 tests before they were allowed on the flight and when they returned to New Zealand they were to remain in their bubble.
Loading and unloading was handled by a seperate bubble of handlers. All horses came from the same property, travelled to the airport in the one float and were seen to by the one vet. These protocol allowed for control of human and horse movement, and detailed contract tracing.
Fellow equine transport company IRT reported yesterday that Auckland/Sydney flights are now due to officially restart later this week.
While equine airfreight companies are working on opening multiple flight routes, Auckland-Sydney is the only trans-tasman flight to be open in the immediate future. There is current a backlog of around 200 horses waiting on trans-tasman travel.
IRT have also reported that equine flights to Hong Kong are due to start back early May on a monthly basis, and the company is currently preparing horses for import from Europe to Australia in the coming months. Flights from Australia and NZ to the USA could recommence in June.
The equine airfreight industry is well versed in quarantine requirements, as it forms part of most overseas travel. Companies have at times in the past run quarantined flights, where following strict protocol is the norm.
Earlier this week, race tracks reopened in New Zealand as places of work (not to the public) meaning the training of racehorses could resume.
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