Air Charter Service (ACS) made sure dogs could still have their dinner after a computer virus almost caused supermarkets to run out of a popular brand.

A freight forwarder contacted ACS having received a call from a major dog food manufacturer whose supply chain management system had been affected by the widely publicised ransonware attack last year, meaning they were left in short supply of their top products in Australia and New Zealand.

The company urgently needed to restock and could not risk losing customers by waiting for their usual delivery methods to ship the large quantities needed to replenish the shelves as they were produced half way round the world in France.

ACS chartered four Boeing 777s to move more than 400 tonnes of dog food to make sure the supermarkets did not run out of the popular brand.

ACS director of the Asia Pacific region, Stephen Fernandez says: “We arranged for four aircraft in total, each with around 100 tonnes on board, to fly from Paris – the destinations were Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand. The flights ran very smoothly meaning that there was no stock disruption to the supermarket shelves.

“It’s not the first time that the stock management of food orders has led to clients chartering with us. We have flown ham, steaks, flour and burgers before now, but I think that this is the first time pet food has been needed so urgently!”