If you’ve seen the videos of baby elephant Maya being airlifted to Jamnagar, you may have spotted the tail. That was us.
On 6 November, a Quikjet Boeing 737-800BCF flew Maya, an 18-month-old elephant calf, from Kochi to Jamnagar. She was on her way to specialised care at Vantara.
A Historic First for India
This operation marked a historic milestone in India’s animal transportation and aviation landscape — a specialised airlift of an elephant calf, demonstrating how dedicated cargo aviation can support critical animal rescue and welfare operations.
Maya was found alone on a riverbank as a newborn. She now suffers from a severe bone condition and cannot stand. Moving a 130 kg patient with fragile bones took careful planning on the ground and smooth flying in the air. A team of veterinarians and caregivers stayed with her throughout the flight.
Our thanks go to Vantara, the Kerala Forest Department, and the Cochin and Jamnagar airport teams. We also thank our own crew, engineers and ground staff, who turned a short notice request into a safe, quiet flight.
A Special Appreciation from the Kerala Forest Department
Following the operation, the Kerala Forest Department shared their appreciation for the Quikjet Cargo Airlines team:
“Thank you to the team Quikjet Cargo Airlines, that we utilized for Maya, was excellent. Every step of the process was well coordinated and seamless, exhibiting true professionalism. All the staff were very cooperative and showed lot of compassion towards Maya. Kerala Forest Department would like to appreciate and sincerely thank you…”
We are deeply grateful for this acknowledgement. It means a great deal to our entire team to know that the professionalism, coordination and compassion demonstrated throughout the operation made a difference.
Our job was the airlift. The healing belongs to the vets. We are wishing Maya a full recovery.
When it matters, we fly it. Express cargo, perishables, dangerous goods and live animals included.
Visual Disclaimer: The accompanying creative is entirely AI-generated and is intended solely as an illustrative representation of how the operation was carried out. It is not an actual photograph or video of Maya or the airlift. No animal was used, involved or harmed in the creation of this AI-generated visual. The visual is for representational purposes only.
