SINGAPORE – Come January 16, VIPs will be given special first class treatment on their first overseas trip.
He will be “chauffeured” to the airport, where he will board the plane through his own entrance and have the entire flight to himself, accompanied by three crew members.
The VIP, or Very Important Panda, as Singapore Airlines (SIA) calls him, is none other than Le Le, a baby giant panda born in Singapore. Le Le will be on her first flight from Singapore to Chengdu. He is scheduled to depart Changi Airport at 7:15pm on January 16 and head to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
Under the terms of China’s Panda Loan Agreement, panda cubs born abroad are usually returned to China when they are two years old. Le Le was last seen at the River Wonders Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest on December 13, 2023, and has been in isolation in his “suite,” or den, since December 14, 2023. It has been.
“In preparation for the flight, he underwent a thorough medical examination and was assessed to be in good health,” SIA announced on January 15.
Le Re will be transported from Mandai, where River Wonders is located, to Changi Airport in a customized box in a temperature-controlled truck.
The crate, which is 1.7 meters long, 1.1 meters wide and 1.3 meters high, took two weeks to assemble and will serve as Le Re’s “seat” during the four-and-a-half hour flight on a Boeing 747-400F cargo plane. The crate has removable plywood boards on both ends, making it easy to check at mealtimes or when needed.