Bangkok--6 Aug--Grayling Global (Thailand) British Airways World Cargo staffs have begun the Olympic-sized challenge of loading kit for the Team GB athletes bound for Beijing. Over 700 separate items — ranging from 12ft long canoes to table tennis balls — have to be specially packed and stored for the ten hour trip to the Chinese capital ahead of the 29th Olympiad. As the official airline to the British Olympic team and the British Paralympic Association, British Airways has been working behind the scenes to ensure athletes and their kits arrive in Beijing fully prepared for the Games. Canoes, javelins, shot puts and pole-vaults will be carefully packed by hand and transported in bespoke cargo containers and special protective wrapping onboard British Airways flights. Among the more unusual items being transported are five rifle cases, two prosthetic legs, kayaks, sabres and nearly 200 wheelchairs. BA will be setting its own Olympic record by flying around 80 wheelchairs, the largest number ever carried on a single flight, the day after the handover ceremony takes place at the Paralympic Games on September 18th. Photo Shows: Team of British Airways, the official airline to the British Olympic team and the British Paralympic Association, proud to be carrying Team GB and their kit to Beijing ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic games in August and September 2008. For further media information please contact: Suthatip Boonsaeng (08-9924-6464), Ruthaiwan Tanwongwan (08-6633-8171) Grayling Global (Thailand) [email protected]; [email protected] Tel: 02 635 7151-4 Fax: 02 635 7155