Global express delivery company TNT has beaten the Guinness World Record for the fastest loading of cars onto aircraft.
Wonder how many Smart cars can be fit in the belly of a Boeing 747, one of the world’s largest aircraft? A team of seven people managed to fit 30 smart fortwo cars into a TNT Boeing 747 in only 35 minutes and 34 seconds.
The record-breaking attempt at TNT’s air hub in Belguim was planned by car magazine TopGear Italia, in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Smart car, the most compact car in the world.
The 30 Smart fortwo cars were provided by Mercedes-Benz Italia and Mercedes-Benz Belgium, and TNT Liège Hub head of ground operations Christine Heine coordinated the operation.
“One of the critical aspects was to find a suitable time window to try to break the record, fitting with the arrivals and departures of all the other aircraft scheduled 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Heine said.
“The take-off time for each TNT aircraft is really imperative, considering its impact on the synchronised network that delivers hundreds of thousands of express parcels anytime, anywhere.”
The seven staff had only three hours to load the Smart cars into the Boeing 747, unload them and re-load the aircraft with goods leaving for Shanghai.
TNT said the result was a reflection of the professionalism of TNT employees with their ‘sure we can’ mission and the design of the Smart fortwo, a unique car that has already obtained many records in its 10-year life.