Flower power: 41,444 kgs of marigold pass through KIA

Almost 41,444 kgs of marigold flowers en route Dubai passed through the Kempegowda International Airport on November 11. The fresh flowers were laid out at the ‘Flowers of Tolerance’ at the Dubai Festival City.

This has now entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest natural flower carpet in the world, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said.

The marigolds were sourced from various parts of Bengaluru and the surrounding districts, including Devanahalli and Chikkaballapur. This huge consignment of fresh flora was handled by DHL Global Forwarding on a chartered Boeing 777 Freighter (777F).

The freshly harvested flower consignment was managed by Air India SATS CoolPort to ensure maximum freshness and longer shelf-life of the marigolds.

Over the past few years, KIA has witnessed a huge growth in flower exports due to the availability of a CoolPort, equipped with temperature monitoring and cold rooms, with varying temperatures to handle commodities with different requirements.

BIAL said the dedicated cold chain facility at KIA, the first of its kind in the country, handles the seamless movement of perishable cargo. The KIA operator said the temperature is maintained not only in storage but also in the pre-loading area, right up to the time the cargo is loaded onto the aircraft.