Europe’s fourth largest air cargo hub, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol teams up with the Holland Flower Alliance to support efforts surrounding the Ideal Flowerbox initiative. The goal of the initiative is to create a system of standardization and space efficiencies in shipping flowers, benefiting the flower supply chain in the region.

“The shipment of flowers is an important activity at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, so we are very supportive of the Ideal Flowerbox project and we are excited about the initial trial results showing how the box can improve sustainability in the supply chain,” said Roos Bakker, Director Business Development, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

“We actively encourage innovation within the air cargo community, and we believe that collaboration with the HFA partners will continue to yield positive results for all stakeholders involved in the shipment of flowers.”

After a successful first trial run led by Royal FloraHolland’s Senior Consultant Christo van der Meer,  a second phase for the trial period is in the works and could lead to future implementation of the strategy on additional flower routes in 2019.

“The initial trial was very successful with a 15 per cent increase of weight on airline pallets and boxes on the Nairobi to Amsterdam route, which demonstrates the value of collaboration between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM Cargo, and Royal FloraHolland,” said van der Meer.

“The results show that with the use of the Ideal Flowerbox we are able to optimise the aircraft’s load factor, which is beneficial for a sustainable and efficient operation.”

Source: Schiphol