As the crow flies, it’s almost 18,000 km (11,000 miles) from the fjords of Norway to those of the South Island of New Zealand.
In fact, it’s hard to think of a pair of cities that are further apart than Oslo and Christchurch. And yet, an Airbus Helicopters H125 light helicopter was recently transferred between these two cities, arriving in New Zealand on April 23, 2025.
The helicopter did not self-deploy, but was rather transferred in a complex multi-modal, multi-stage operation, which involved surface and air modes of transportation across several countries and three continents.
The operation was coordinated by B&H Worldwide, a UK firm specializing in aerospace logistics.
The helicopter was first ferried in a truck fitted with a curtain side trailer from Oslo to Brussels-Zaventem (BRU) international airport. There, it was prepared for its long journey by air. Firstly, it was partly disassembled, then fitted into a pallet and loaded into the belly of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400F freighter.
The helicopter was flown to the airline’s hub at Singapore Changi airport (SIN), where it was unloaded and transferred to another B747-400F for the next leg of its trip.
The helicopter arrived in Auckland (AKL), New Zealand, after a 10-hour flight.
B&H Worldwide was proud to highlighted that, in spite of the complexity and length of the movement, the rotorcraft arrived at its final destination four days earlier than anticipated, due to having been able to secure an earlier freight slot in Singapore.
This was not the end of its journey, though. Upon arrival in New Zealand, the helicopter was reassembled, underwent re-certification by the local Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and finally delivered to Pacific Aircraft Services, an aerospace services firm based in Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand.
