Flying messengers of love

Lufthansa Cargo has millions of red roses on board for Valentine’s Day.

Hardly any other flower is as sought-after as the rose on the forthcoming day of lovers: to ensure that the millions of declarations of affection will not have to go without the scent of the long- stemmed symbol of love, Lufthansa Cargo is currently flying entire freighters filled with beautiful roses. All in all, Lufthansa’s cargo arm will transport some 800 tonnes of these delicate goods this year. This equates to around the load capacity of eleven flights with MD-11 freighters.

Lufthansa Cargo connects the flower-growing countries with the Frankfurt hub several times a week. Europe’s leading cargo airline has developed the special Fresh product and equipped its freighters with state-of-the-art technology specifically for the transportation of perishable goods such as flowers and food.

The journey of the “Queen of Flowers” usually starts in Kenya or South America. In these countries, ideal climatic conditions prevail all year round, offering the best conditions for growth. In order for the flowery love greetings to reach their recipient in full splendour, it is important that they are transported quickly and carefully at a constant temperature of two to four degrees Celsius throughout the entire logistics chain. This is ensured by sophisticated logistics: The roses are harvested several times a day at the flower farms where they are cultivated and then immediately placed in water and cooled. Following sorting and packing, the flowers are taken directly to the airport and loaded onto the Lufthansa aircrafts, where they are kept at the perfect temperature in the cargo hold. The roses only remain in Frankfurt Airport for a short while. Just a few hours after landing, they are transported onwards from this city on the Main river into the hands of lovers all across Europe.

Please find press photos here.