We were asked to help evacuate an international footballer to Dubai from Shanghai amidst strict Covid-19 lockdown measures.
Evacuating a famous footballer from Shanghai during a lockdown
In April 2022, we were asked to help evacuate an international footballer and his family to Dubai from Shanghai, where he played in the Chinese Super League. With strict Covid-19 lockdown measures causing disruption to commercial flights in Shanghai and hindering the arrangement of airport transfers and flight permits, we needed to pull out all the stops to arrange this seemingly impossible charter.
Our Solution
Route: Shanghai > Dubai
Aircraft: Bombardier Global 6000
Despite Shanghai’s restrictive lockdown rules, our well-connected team found an operator who could facilitate a direct flight to Dubai. We also secured back-up availability on a later date in case the flight paperwork was delayed, liaising with the Civil Aviation Administration of China to ensure they had all the information needed to process the departure permit.
The Finer Details
Global Presence: As an international company with bank accounts around the world, we were able to ask the client to transfer dollars rather than Chinese yuan, using our U.S. bank account to ensure the funds were received in time for this last-minute charter to go ahead.
Local Connections: Our local team liaised directly with the ground handler in their native language, Mandarin, to secure special permission for the footballer to travel during lockdown and arrange pre-flight PCR tests and flight permits.