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FedEx Corporation recently completed a significant transportation mission involving six giant pandas between the United States and China. The operation, conducted on two separate flights, marked the first-ever roundtrip deliveries by FedEx for this purpose. The journey commenced from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chengdu, China, where four pandas were delivered. Subsequently, the aircraft returned to Washington, D.C., with two pandas.
The initial flight departed from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and landed at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport on October 13. Among the transported pandas were Lun Lun and Yang Yang, both 27 years old and residents of Zoo Atlanta since 1999. Accompanying them were their twin offspring Ya Lun and Xi Lun, born in 2016 at Zoo Atlanta. Upon arrival in Chengdu, these pandas were transferred to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
The return flight carried two-year-old male Bao Li and female Qing Bao to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, D.C., arriving on October 15. Bao Li is notably related to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who were also transported by FedEx in November 2023.
