Cathay Pacific carries 'Flame Of Hope' For 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games

Martes 25 de septiembre de 2007 — Cathay Pacific Airways will have a precious and unique cargo on board two of its freighter flights in September as it helps to carry the “Flame of Hope” that will light up the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai. The flame is currently on a five-month, 22,000-mile journey around five continents in the build up to the Games, which will be held from 2-11 October.

At the request of DHL, the leading global express and logistics group and Global Partner of the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run for the 2007 and 2009 Special Olympics World Games, Cathay Pacific will carry the flame to Sydney, Australia, and into Mainland China via Beijing on its scheduled freighter flights. The flame will then be carried by torch across China by a team of over 120 law enforcement officers, Special Olympics athletes and Support Team members before reaching Shanghai for the opening of the Games.

Cathay Pacific and DHL have a long history of working together and both companies are shareholders in Air Hong Kong - the leading express cargo airline in the region. Air Hong Kong has also got in on the Special Olympics act, carrying the flame in a specially mounted lantern on two of its regional express freight operations – to Seoul in Korea and Tokyo in Japan – in August.

Cathay Pacific Director & General Manager Cargo, Ron Mathison said: “It is an enormous honour for Cathay Pacific and our subsidiary, Air Hong Kong, to have the opportunity to carry the flame for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. We are delighted to work with DHL to carry the flame to some of our most important regional destinations and play a small but significant role in what is a very meaningful event.”

Dan McHugh, CEO - DHL Express Asia Pacific, said: “As a long-time partner of DHL, Cathay Pacific complements our core competencies in delivering the flame safely and reliably to each of its destinations. Just as Special Olympics athletes triumph over all obstacles to compete on the world stage, DHL is committed to overcoming logistics challenges to move the flame around the globe, sharing the vision of hope with Special Olympics athletes.”

To enable the flame to be carried, Cathay Pacific had to seek special dangerous goods exemptions from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and aviation authorities in each of the countries the flame is flying to. Normally, the carriage of lighted dangerous goods is expressly forbidden.

The flame is transported in a miner’s lamp that is held in place during the flight by specially mounted brackets. The lamp is filled with 150ml of standard lamp oil in the form of liquid paraffin, approved by Civil Aviation authorities, and needs to be refilled every 24 hours. Two specially trained DHL security staff accompany each flight to ensure there are no irregularities and the flame reaches its destination safely.