Safair L-382 to be placed in Australia

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has signed a contract with Safair to place and operationally manage a L-382 Hercules in Australia.

The Hercules, the only civil rear-loading freighter of its kind in the country, is based in Brisbane on a long-term lease for international and domestic airlift operations.

“Chapman Freeborn has been regularly chartering the Hercules to fly outsize and time-critical cargo in Southeast Asia and Australasia, especially to remote locations in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam and Cambodia. It is also within easy reach of New Caledonia, Nauru, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and New Zealand,” Michael Grant, general manager of Chapman Freeborn Australia, commented.

“With the Hercules now based in Australia, we are expecting a rise in cargo charter requests to airports including Karratha, Port Hedland, Moomba, Darwin and Broome, as well as other mining destinations in the north west and south west.”

The L-382 Hercules aircraft can carry up to 20 tonnes.