Flying Trapeze, Just in Time

The idyllic vision from our client was clear from the beginning….. “Swinging through the air on a high-wire trapeze surrounded by white sands and turquoise seas.”

In order to make that vision reality they needed to transport 2500kg of trapeze equipment to the beautiful Maldivian island of Reethi Rah. So when they approached Charles Kendall Freight we were more than ready to swing into action.

The project was managed from the Feltham office and split between Freight and Packing. Four large custom cases were built, the largest being nearly 3.75m long. The cases had to contain all the parts and still fit on a passenger air craft so a load-plan was carefully devised. The cases were specially designed to enable them to be transferred to a small boat for the final trip to Reethi Rah island and also so that they could be re-used for the return journey. After four weeks on the Island the trapeze had to be repacked into the original cases and transported back to the UK in time for the next trapeze show four days later in the UK.

Returning Challenges

There were a few challenges along the return route. The load was off-loaded from the first airplane at Male Airport because the load-plan hadn’t been adhered to and therefore the plane doors wouldn’t close. To compound the situation it was then held for inspection at UK customs. The trapeze itself takes 12 hours to erect so all these factors added up to a 24 hour delay in the trapeze reaching its next appointment with a troop of cadets. To help speed the delivery on its way our imports department liaised with UK Customs which finally cleared the goods at 15:00. We then sent a dedicated van to collect the load from Gatwick and return to our Heathrow warehouse for swift onward transit to the patiently waiting cadets.