AIRPORT VOICE, FEBRUARY 2022 33
Shakin’ it up for
Valentines Day
Bouquets are Free from Harmful Pests
Valentine’s Day is just
around the corner, and U.S.
Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) Agriculture Specialists,
working at the New
York/New Jersey area ports
of entry, are busy making sure
that imported flowers used in
Valentine’s Day bouquets are
free from insects, pests, and
diseases that could harm the
agricultural and floral industries
throughout the United
States.
“Valentine’s Day flowers
can be a lovely present for
that special someone, however
they can carry pests that
could cause serious damage
to our Nation’s agriculture and
natural resources,” said New
York Field Operations Director,
Frank Russo. “This is why
our CBP Agriculture Specialists
Throw back-Agricultural Inspector Cox shakes any
insects loose during Valentine's Day Rose inspection.
are poised every holiday season
to prevent the introduction of harmful
insects and diseases in the United
States.”
So far in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022,
leading up to Valentine’s Day, CBP Agriculture
Specialists in New York processed
approximately 16,000,000 cut
flowers from more than 54 countries,
consisting of various types of flowers,
such as jasmine, tuberose, roses, tulips,
and orchids.
At international ports of entry, land
borders, and mail facilities, CBP Agriculture
Specialists are the front line
in the fight against the introduction of
harmful insects, pests, and diseases
into the United States.
Giant Antonov freighter delivers
Denmark received 140 tons of test kits
Giant Antonov unloading at JFK Airport
The Danish government orchestrated
the delivery of a huge number
of covid test kits shpped from Shanghai
in China to Billund in Denmark during
January in collaboration with UKbased
freight forwarder JAG-UFS,.
On January 29, Volga-Dnepr had
two AN-124 aircraft (RA-82046 and
RA-82043) in Billund airspace simultaneously.
The latter aircraft arrived
five minutes after the departure of RA-
82046. The final flight saw RA-82044,
one of Volga-Dnepr’s 12 x AN-124-100,
carry 72 tons of Covid-19 test kits to Billund
Airport on January 31.
Due to groundhandling, the average
time of unoading such a large shipment
of an average of 8 hours down to under
2 hours. Martin Bodker Andersen
of Spedman Logistics coordinated local
logistic activities to meet strict and
demanding delivery schedules.
Ekaterina Andreeva, commercial
director of Volga-Dnepr Airlines, said:
“Since 2022 we keep receiving requests
for the transportation of test kits
as the demand for Covid-19 tests augments
amid the spread of the omicron
variant. We would like to thank Gary
Wilcox (chief executive) at JAG-UFS
for once again entrusting us to deliver
such critical cargo”.
Happy Valentines Day to the cargo community from WFS women, Edith Lugo Theresa Sisson Vanesa Collado Iona Florides, Maryann Francese