A shipment of live sturgeons has been delivered to Abu Dhabi by Middle Eastern airline Etihad.
Emirati airline Etihad welcomed some unusual passengers on its flights to Abu Dhabi this week – 22 adult sturgeons, headed to the world’s largest caviar farm in the UAE.
The new 60,000 square metre state-of-the-art farm has been commissioned in the Emirati capital, with the aim of rearing sturgeons and producing high-quality caviar.
Etihad picked up the slippery customers at Frankfurt Hahn Airport and transported them in a specially designed container with its own temperature-controlled environment, which was always kept between 10 and 15 degrees centigrade.
Roy Kinnear, Etihad Airways’ senior vice-president for cargo, said: “Etihad is proud of its reputation for carrying precious cargo and this now includes sturgeon fish which are on the list of global endangered species.”
He added that all 22 fish were delivered safely to their new home in Abu Dhabi.
For the important flight, Etihad used one of its new Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft, the airline reported.
Written by Nicholas Scott