"The problem is the heat in Pakistan", explains Kay Wissenbach, managing director of GK Air accurately describing the new situation of twenty plumed travellers. The shipment of these twenty canaries that had started out from Germany to arrive in Peshawar in Pakistan, was not all too easy an undertaking since a transport box had to be specifically built for each one of them. Every canary got a perch of its own in order to have enough space during the long flight and to be able to "stretch its legs" from time to time. However the climate in Wiesbaden is quite some bit different to the climate you would find in the pakistan metropolis with its three million citizens. The specialized boxes for the birds had been approved by IATA since they met with the prerequisites of the umbrella organisation of airlines and their international standards.

The added challenge was not to interrupt the day and night rhythm of the animals. The metabolism of these canaries highly depends on it. These conditions in particular, had to be discussed with the customer, a member of the LVP Landesverband e.V. Wiesbaden, down to each and every detail, in order to make sure that the birds' journey would be as stress-free as possible. The birds could relax in the Animal Lounge of the Frankfurt Airport before taking the plane to Peshawar. "Qatar Airways dispose of a good route network and are thus a reliable partner for us", said Kay Wissenbach.

There was a stopover in Doha by the Gulf of Persia. Like Frankfurt, the city with 400,000 citizens has an Animal Lounge with a quarantine station. "They are well prepared for such animal transports, and this gives us at GK Air a good sense of security," says Kay Wissenbach.

The birds arrived at their destination and in their new environment without complications. It was a shipment that, in this form, does not usually occur all too often.

For further information: www.qatarairways.com