LX Pantos completes airlift of 11.2 million fresh eggs from US, Thailand

Comprehensive logistics company LX Pantos said Wednesday that it had successfully completed a large-scale airlift project bringing fresh eggs from the US and Thailand into South Korea using chartered cargo aircraft.

The project is part of government measures to stabilize the domestic egg supply. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has been expanding imports and supply of fresh eggs from overseas through the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation. This preemptively addresses supply disruptions caused by factors such as avian influenza.

LX Pantos loaded 150 tons of fresh eggs onto two chartered Boeing 747 cargo flights departing from Los Angeles International Airport. The company then unloaded the cargo and completed delivery at Incheon International Airport on Friday. Including that shipment, the company has deployed chartered aircraft 10 times since mid-June, transporting fresh eggs shipped from farms in the US and Thailand to South Korea. The total volume reached about 11.2 million eggs, weighing roughly 800 tons.

The key challenge of the project was maintaining speed and freshness given the perishable nature of the cargo. LX Pantos drew on its operational capabilities in the US and Thailand to design an optimal logistics process. It communicated in real time with producers and carriers to ensure the shortest possible transport time from farm to domestic retail. Throughout transport, the company kept the eggs at appropriate temperatures to preserve freshness and applied specialized packaging and loading techniques to prevent damage.

LX Pantos holds the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Fresh and Pharma certifications, both administered by the International Air Transport Association, underscoring its recognized expertise in fresh cargo air transport and cold chain logistics.

LX Pantos is also preparing for the possibility of additional fresh egg imports under the government's egg supply stabilization measures and plans to provide swift, stable transport support for such imports if needed.

"Building on the air transport capabilities and cold chain operation know-how we have accumulated over many years, we successfully carried out this highly challenging fresh egg transport project," an LX Pantos official said. "We will continue to draw on our experience in special cargo, including fresh food, to actively respond to the needs of customers and the market."

Meanwhile, LX Pantos recently completed a demanding defense logistics project for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. The company imported air-to-air guided missiles -- weapons fired from aircraft in flight at aerial targets -- from France to South Korea. The missiles are intended for a Marine Corps amphibious attack helicopter system development project. The project demonstrated LX Pantos's competitiveness in the defense logistics and special cargo markets.