Kick-starting the preparations for the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix in Greater Noida, the first batch of participating cars has arrived from Japan’s Nagoya Airport.
The cars will take part in the India Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit from October 25 to 27. Three freight aircraft landed at Delhi till 6 pm on Tuesday and other aircraft reached on Wednesday. The cars are being shipped on B-747 freighters belonging to the British Airways, Emirates, Nippon Cargo and Atlas Air Cargo.
According to the airport operator, Delhi International Airport limited (DIAl), a total of 700 metric tonnes of cargo in 78 pallets, loaded on Boeing 747-400 F and Boeing 747-8F aircraft reached the Delhi Airport on Wednesday. "We have earmarked dedicated parking space for 100 trucks and two freight aircraft. The state-of-the-art cargo infrastructure spread on an area of 1.28 lakh sq metre has complete in-house competency to handle such events," said I Prabhakara Rao, DIAl CEO.
The operator claimed that handling the Formula 1 cargo involves high-level coordination with multiple agencies on a very time-bound deadline. As a security measure, special permissions, proximity cards and driver identification cards have also been sought.
"More than the volume, the time-factor is crucial in making the logistics support successful. Post this race, the entire equipment will have to be shifted to the next race, and hence it is extremely time critical," added Rao.
The cars will fly to Abu Dhabi on October 28 and 29 where the next race is due to happen. A dedicated weighing machine will also be installed at the airside to ensure time-bound departures.