Glasgow Prestwick recently handled the largest single shipment ever to be offloaded from a 747 freighter at the airport when Polar Air Cargo imported a 34-ton gas turbine destined for Derbyshire, UK.

The complex handling operation was successfully completed within 90 minutes using a combination of several hiloaders, mobile cranes and PIK's handling expertise.

Meanwhile, another charter carried 23 tons or 2.3 million individual blooms of daffodils from Grampian Growers of Montrose, Scotland, urgently required for a charity event in Toronto using an Icelandair 757 aircraft in freighter configuration.

In addition to the 19 scheduled 747 freighters each week, the airport also handled 15 ad hoc freight charters during March operating to and from Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany, Yugoslavia, Norway, Ghana and Malta using a diverse array of aircraft types including AN124, AN12, AN72, AN26, HS748 and L188. Loads included electronics, oil and gas equipment and automotive parts.

Glasgow Prestwick Director of Freight Stuart Sinclair said, "With almost 3,000 tons of a diverse assortment of freight handled during March, the airport continues to provide a vital service to the Scottish, UK and Irish forwarding industries."