FedEx Express has successfully delivered historic Inca artifacts from New York to Peru ready to bedisplayed in a new museum near the famous Machu Picchu site.
The company flew a total of 127 crates containing the objects from Newark InternationalAirport in New York to the Peruvian capital Lima ready for onward transportation to Cusco, theformer Inca capital in the Andes mountains where the museum is located.
The crates contained delicate stone tools and fragile ceramic fragments, which had beenconserved for nearly a century at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Following anagreement with the government of Peru, and a new partnership with the University San Antonio Abadof Cusco (UNSAAC) in Cusco, Yale University asked FedEx to help safely move the irreplaceableitems. In turn, FedEx donated project funds and the use of an Airbus A300 aircraft to make thedelivery possible.
“We’re grateful to FedEx for its logistical expertise needed to make this historic move,”Derek Briggs, director of Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, said. “We are looking forwardto working with our UNSAAC colleagues in an ongoing partnership to display and study the collectionof Machu Picchu archaeological material excavated by Hiram Bingham in 1912.”
As part of the delivery process, the 127 crates of Machu Picchu artifacts were firsttransported on a dedicated FedEx Express aircraft from Newark International Airport in New York toLima, the capital of Peru. Thereby, FedEx Express took control of the crates, developing acustomised load plan for the flight to ensure their safety, and monitoring the priceless shipmentfrom take-off to landing nine hours later.
Upon their arrival in Lima, the crates were transferred to a military base, and then flownby the Peruvian government to the museum in Cusco. The mission required FedEx Express team membersto communicate with customs agents in Lima ahead of time to help clear the flight and its contentsproviding a truly customised solution for easier delivery.
Once in Lima, the Peruvian government escorted the artifacts to their new home at theUNSAAC-Yale International Centre for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Culture. The museum openedin October 2011, and is very close to the ancient Machu Picchu site.
“We specialise in using our extensive network to help our customers chart their own course,”Dave Lange, managing director, FedEx Express Charters, said. “Each critical shipment has its ownunique requirements in terms of handling and customs clearance.”
“FedEx has a long history of transporting delicate cargo, and it is a privilege to serve asthe trusted carrier of these priceless pieces of history,” Juan N. Cento, regional president FedExExpress Latin American and Caribbean division, said. “FedEx is proud to have been involved in anopportunity that has not only shaped history, but also linked cultures.”
