Asset Publisher

Back Aircraft Manufacturer Required Shipment of an Urgent Part for a Grounded Major Medical Operator for Medical Mission in Australia During COVID-19 | Sterling Global Aviation Logistics

Sterling shipped an urgent aircraft part from Muskegon, Michigan to Townsville, Australia in 56 hours and 30 minutes. The part was used to repair a grounded aircraft, which was able to fly for a medical mission as scheduled.

Sterling picked up the part within an hour of the request. The part was delivered in Townsville at 08:50 Friday, just in time for the medical mission.

Challenge

One of Sterling's customers, an aircraft manufacturer, needed to ship an urgent spare part for one of its aircraft used by the world's largest medical operators. The medical operator needed to utilize the aircraft to transport doctors during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The part, an overhauled turbine compressor, was located in Muskegon, Michigan, and needed to arrive early on Friday morning in Townsville, Australia to repair a grounded aircraft. The medical mission was scheduled on Friday evening to transport doctors.

Solution

The Sterling US team picked up the aircraft part within an hour of the request and planned for the fastest possible routing out of the USA during COVID times. The safest way to route this urgent shipment was via multiple stops out of the US, with a tight connection in Sydney to Townsville, Australia.

The shipment arrived in Sydney local time 18:30 Thursday with a very small chance to be retrieved on time to catch the next flight SYD-BNE-TSV. It was critical that this connection was made since the next flights were two days later.

Retrievals are not normally allowed in the evening in Sydney airport, however, considering the part was for a recognized Australian medical operator, Sterling was able to receive permission from the airline to allow our drivers to wait at the gate for shipment retrieval once the flight arrived from the US for fast transport to the connecting flight to Townsville.

In addition, Sterling's local team worked closely with the local airline in Sydney to load the spare part for the last flight that evening.

The part arrived in Townsville at 07:13 Friday and it was delivered at 08:50 the same day. The maintenance team was able to work on the aircraft engine during the day and the medical aircraft was able to fly Friday evening for the scheduled mission.

  • End-to-end transport of the part was made in record time: 56 hours and 30 minutes from Michigan, USA to Townsville, Australia.
  • Communications were ongoing throughout transit, keeping all involved in the supply chain informed every step of the way.
  • The medical mission flight from Australia departed on time and as per their planned schedule.