Political urgency gives rise to a new (air) cargo cult
So it was no surprise that within hours of the policy being announced, a lightning-swift series of chain reactions down the chain of cargo contractors and subcontractors was being played out.
Lynden Air Cargo PNG, a charter company in its second week of shuttling cargo from Moresby to Manus Island, provided a glimpse of just how rapidly the process unfolded.
President Greg Vaughan revealed that just six days after Rudd's shock announcement of July 19, his company was already in the air and delivering to Manus under subcontract to Melbourne-based transport giant Toll Holdings.
Toll began its latest mission by pulling in Russian company Ruslan to get cargo from Sydney to Port Moresby using its heavy-lift Antonov aircraft, the world's largest cargo plane, big enough to carry 10 20-foot shipping containers.
Loaded with tents, marquees, poles and building equipment, the Antonovs flew to Port Moresby's Jacksons Airport. From there, the problem was getting them on to Manus.
The island's airstrip is a former US bomber base from World War II, and while it has been upgraded over the years, it was in no shape to handle the Antonovs.
This is where Lynden stepped in. The charter company, which is PNG's only all-cargo airline, is a subsidiary of an Alaskan company that goes by the same name. Lynden also happens to have three out of only a dozen civilian models of the C130 Hercules available worldwide, each capable of carrying up to 20 tonnes of cargo.
The planes are designed to land on short, narrow strips, using fully reversible propellers that bring them to a rapid stop if required.
By the middle of this week, Lynden was already halfway through a hasty, 14-flight contract.
"We are under contract with Toll on behalf of the Australian government to ferry supplies from Port Moresby to Manus Island," says Vaughan, who is based in Port Moresby.
"I am assuming [the government] would have contacted several of their contractors - I think [Queensland air-charter broker] Adagold and Toll would have been on the shortlist. In this case, Toll has the contract. That is the sort of time frame this one appears to have come together in."
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
The surge was triggered by Kevin Rudd’s “get them to PNG” policy announced on July 19. The government’s urgent need to show physical evidence of the policy ahead of a federal election—such as photos of planes unloading in Port Moresby—set off a lightning-fast chain reaction among airlines, cargo contractors and subcontractors.
Toll Holdings was the main transport contractor and brought in a Russian company, Ruslan, to fly Antonov heavy-lift aircraft from Sydney to Port Moresby. Melbourne-based Toll subcontracted onward freight movements from Port Moresby to Manus Island to Lynden Air Cargo PNG. The article also mentions Queensland air-charter broker Adagold as likely to have been on the shortlist for government contracts.
Lynden Air Cargo PNG, PNG’s only all-cargo airline and a subsidiary of an Alaskan company, operated sub-contracted flights from Port Moresby to Manus. Company president Greg Vaughan said Lynden was already flying six days after the announcement and was about halfway through a hasty 14-flight contract on behalf of Toll and the Australian government.
Toll used Russian Antonov heavy-lift aircraft to move large quantities of equipment from Sydney to Port Moresby because Antonovs are very large cargo planes—big enough to carry about ten 20-foot shipping containers. They were loaded with items like tents, marquees, poles and building equipment for the Manus operation.
Manus Island’s airstrip is a former WWII US bomber base that has been upgraded over the years but still wasn’t suitable for Antonov-sized aircraft. That limitation meant cargo had to be flown into Port Moresby’s Jacksons Airport and then transferred to smaller aircraft able to operate from Manus.
Lynden used civilian C-130 Hercules aircraft. According to the article, Lynden has three of the roughly dozen civilian C-130s available worldwide; each C-130 can carry up to about 20 tonnes of cargo and is designed to land on short, narrow strips—using fully reversible propellers to enable rapid stopping when required.
Very quickly. Lynden’s president said the company was airborne delivering to Manus just six days after the July 19 announcement, and Lynden was already about halfway through a 14-flight contract by the middle of that week—illustrating how fast the supply chain reacted to the policy.
The article shows political urgency can create sudden, high-demand, short-notice contracts for transport and logistics firms. In this case, a government policy drove a rapid chain reaction involving Toll, Ruslan/Antonov flights, and subcontractor Lynden—highlighting how contractors and subcontractors can be called on quickly to provide specialised air cargo services when a political objective demands visible, timely action.
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