Cargolux recently announced it transported a 10-meter long shaft with a total gross weight of 43 metric tonnes from Luxembourg to Zhengzhou, making it the heaviest one-piece cargo ever delivered by the European freighter to China.

The shipment marks a new milestone for the all-cargo airline, citing opportunities to expand future shipments of jumbo-sized cargoes.

The transport was organized on behalf of the newly founded HNCA Logistics (Luxembourg) in cooperation with their local partner European Logistics Partners (ELP).

"This shipment is the first of its kind to transit through Zhengzhou, opening a new realm of possibilities for future transports like this one. It is also the heaviest single piece of freight that Cargolux has ever delivered to mainland China," the freighter said in a statement.

Cargolux director ground engineering, Paul Hoffmann, noted that while Cargolux frequently transports very heavy cargo shipments, of up to 60 tonnes, throughout its global network, "this specific shipment was special as it was the first time that a single piece of cargo weighing above 35.000kg was flown into Zhengzhou airport."

Delivering very heavy cargo to China has always been quite a challenging undertaking as adapted infrastructures for off-loading were quite sparse upon arrival, |but Cargolux said over the past year, there has been solid growth in demand for this kind of transport.

"With this shipment, Cargolux has broken new ground in the field of heavy and off-size shipments in the Far Eastern market," it said, adding that its global presence, local partnerships, and excellent service put the airline in a good position for such shipments.

Cargolux said it has developed a specialized product, CV jumbo, to serve customers’ individual needs, particularly on off-size cargo shipments.