Asiana Airlines will be the first airline to bring in eggs from overseas in the wake of massive shortages due to the bird flu outbreak, according to the airline on Tuesday.

The airline will be shipping 100 tons of eggs on a chartered plane, scheduled to leave Chicago at 4 p.m. on Friday, arriving at Incheon International Airport at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, a spokesman of the airline told The Korea Herald. One hundred tons is about 1.64 million eggs.

The spokesman said that since temperatures can be controlled inside the plane, the eggs will not need a special container for the flight.

The airline declined to comment on the cost of the flight.

Korean Air, Korea‘s largest airline, is also currently negotiating its first flight of eggs coming in from the US. According to reports, the eggs may arrive in Korea as soon as this weekend.

A spokesman for Korean Air told The Korea Herald that it is unlikely the eggs will be on a chartered plane, and more likely that they will be carried through a regular cargo plane or in the cargo hold of a passenger plane.
Korean Air has been fielding numerous requests for negotiations on flying in eggs, and has set up a special task force specifically to deal with the requests.

The Korean Air spokesman said that its services seemed to be in high demand thanks to its “extensive experience in transporting goods requiring special conditions such as temperature control.” 

About 200 kilograms of eggs were brought into Korea from New Zealand on Jan. 5 via Korean Air, but were immediately discarded because of issues in the safety screening process. The Korean government has reached agreements regarding screening for imported eggs with the US and Spain. 

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)