‘Air stalls’ being loaded onto a cargo plane.
For the first time in two months, horses have travelled from Australia to Hong Kong. A plane from Australia carrying 36 racehorses has left Melbourne Airport after the Hong Kong Jockey Club brokered a deal to resume transport routes.
Shipping agent IRT posted the following yesterday morning:
There have been no restrictions on cargo flights; these have continue throughout the pandemic. However, the hurdle until now has been the travelling grooms. The solution is that grooms will not leave the plane when they arrive in Hong Kong; the horses will be handed over to grooms on the ground at the airport.
Once the racehorses have departed the plane in Hong Kong, a number of retired horses will get on and head back to Australia. On this first flight, 26 retired horses will make their way back home.
A backlog of retired horses in Hong Kong have been stable at Conghua Racecourse in China during the break.
At the end of May, Hong Kong is also due to receive a shipment of racehorses from the UK, while the Jockey Club is hopeful that NZ-Hong Kong flights will resume soon after successful flights between NZ and Australia last week.
