Chapman Freeborn Delivers Oversized Truck-Loading Skids for Tropicana Airlines Just in Time

Global air charter specialist Chapman Freeborn, part of Avia Solutions Group, has completed the transport of two oversized truck-loading skids for Tropicana Airlines Ltd of Accra, Ghana. The operation involved moving the units - each nearly 9 meters in length - from Zhangjiagang, China, to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, via Liège, Belgium.

The shipments, coordinated by Chapman Freeborn’s China and UK teams, were completed in late August and early September. Each delivery was executed within approximately 72 hours, meeting the client’s requirements for cost efficiency, secure packaging, and rapid turnaround.

The cargo, consisting of CCMs measuring 870 x 210 x 225 cm and weighing about 5 tons each, was flown in two batches aboard a nose-loading Boeing 747-400F. The first shipment departed from China via CGO and arrived in Liège within 72 hours, where Chapman Freeborn’s UK team oversaw the onward leg to Port Harcourt. The second shipment, which had a more flexible delivery window, departed on September 7.

Because the cargo initially arrived unpacked, Chapman Freeborn’s China team arranged specialist packaging to ensure it met air transport safety standards. Tight deadlines further challenged the coordination teams, requiring continuous communication between the China and UK offices and end-to-end shipment monitoring through video and photographic updates.

According to Jason de Beer, Cargo Charter Broker at Chapman Freeborn, the project demonstrated the company’s ability to manage complex, large-scale cargo operations.

“We were able to meet Tropicana Airlines’ needs in terms of secure packaging and tight deadlines,” he said. “By splitting the cargo into two separate stages, we also achieved significant cost savings for the client.”

De Beer added that the success of the delivery highlights Chapman Freeborn’s capacity to handle oversized, time-sensitive cargo through coordinated global operations.