Every horse on the charter flight travels with its own passport

Booking a long-haul flight takes a passport and a credit card.

Booking one for a mini-Shetland pony takes a passport too. Also blood tests, biosecurity clearance, a stall built to specification, and a groom who knows whether this particular traveler wants company at four in the morning.

In September 2026, the European equestrian spectacle Cavalluna moves its cast of some 52 horses for a 12-hour flight from Liège, Belgium, to Hong Kong. It's the show's first time out of Europe in 25 years of theatrical history, opening at the Kai Tak Arena the same month.

The airline flying them is Cathay Cargo, which moves more than 1,000 horses a year.

Turbulence? Neigh, thanks

For each horse, the equine passport is essential for boarding, verifying its identity and recording its markings, vaccinations, and breeding history.

While that's being sorted, Cathay Cargo's Cathay Live Animal specialists sit down with Cavalluna's trainers, vets, and grooms to understand the individual needs of the show's stars and plan for them.

"You can't just load fifty massive performers onto a freighter and hope for the best," says Dominic Perret, Cathay director cargo. "Our job is to shape the entire aviation experience around their needs and welfare, ensuring they travel safely and comfortably from departure to arrival."

The airline was the first in Asia to earn the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) CEIV Live Animals certification, and its live-animal work goes well beyond horses. (Giant pandas, for one.)

The long haul, without the horsing around

Horses spend the flight on their feet. Which sounds uncomfortable until you know they doze standing up. It's the position they're most settled in.

So the deck is built around it. Stalls are made to IATA specification: ventilation, room to shift weight, footing that grips. The charter flies direct, keeping the crossing short and sparing the equine guests a change of aircraft partway through.

Routing is set with the standing fliers in mind, steering clear of turbulence where the forecast allows. The direct charter reduces journey time and limits stressful changes in the environment. Flight timings are also carefully chosen to steer clear of temperature extremes, protecting these guests from heat stress and cold shocks.

The deck itself sits between 10 and 19 degrees Celsius, the range IATA sets out in its Live Animals Regulations. Cooler than you'd pick for yourself, and exactly right for them. Some 52 standing passengers in enclosed stalls throw off a great deal of warmth, so the deck starts cool and they bring it up to where they're comfortable.

Their own grooms fly with them, working the stalls through the night.

Descent gets its own plan. After all, "brace for landing" means little to a horse, so the crew keeps the landing and touchdown as smooth as conditions allow to help them stay steady on their feet.

Slowly, gently

Hong Kong International Airport is one of the busiest cargo hubs anywhere: fast, vast and loud. Here, the final act of the journey unfolds quietly.

As the Cavalluna talent makes their way off the aircraft, ground crews take their stalls across the tarmac at a slow speed of five kilometers an hour to minimize vibrations and keep those onboard away from engine noise.

From there, it's a short move into the horse handling platform at Cathay Cargo Terminal, where rubber matting takes the load off their hooves and the grooms can take over again.

"Whether we could take this show out of Europe came down to one question: How do the horses arrive? That's why the flight matters as much as the venue," says horse choreographer Siri Paratsch. "These horses are the true stars of our performance. If they aren't completely relaxed and healthy when they step off that plane, there is no show."

When the lights come up at Kai Tak, the audience will see a spectacle.

The ensemble touches down on September third, giving the stars five days to settle in before the curtain rises and the opening bars sound on the 8th.

Learn how Cathay Cargo gets animals to their destination in comfort and safety.

This sponsored post was supplied by Cathay Cargo.

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