When pigs fly—and they are doing so a lot this year—they usually take Boeing or Airbus wide-body jets across the world.
One of the few bright spots for a global airline industry ravaged by Covid-19 has been an increase in live animal cargo flights. Cargo planes this year have taken thousands of pigs, goats, alpacas, cats and dogs on international flights, and livestock handlers say demand for the fastest mode of animal transportation is rising even as many human passengers shun traveling by plane.
Hundreds of pigs can travel on each cargo flight, with groups in large wooden crates roomy enough for them to move around in, and that fit nicely in Boeing 777s and 747s, or Airbus A330 aircraft.
Other than the flight crew, the only other humans aboard are the animals’ handlers. They keep an eye on the pigs’ mood, fill up their water sipper bottles and “give them a little bit of encouragement,” said Charlie McMullen, director of animal cargo specialist Intradco Global.
That interaction has consequences. “You can’t get the smell out of your clothes, you have to bin them,” said Zac Carroll, an animal handler and groom with Intradco.
