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Inside the FedEx Panda Express and the Logistics Behind It
Kelly Barner : October 29, 2026
On September 27, 2026, two giant pandas, six-year-old male Ping Ping and five-year-old female Fu Shuang, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport aboard a dedicated FedEx Boeing 777 freighter.
Both were born in 2020 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, and they will live at Zoo Atlanta for the next 10 years under a new International Cooperative Research Agreement between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. With their arrival, Zoo Atlanta became one of three U.S. zoos with giant pandas, and the only one in the Southeast.
In this episode, I walk through what it took to move them: the federal permit process that had to come first, how the pandas were prepared for travel, the three legs of the journey, and the people who moved with them.
Why does importing a giant panda require a federal permit?
Giant pandas have two different conservation statuses depending on who is counting. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reclassified them from endangered to vulnerable in 2016, but they remain listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The Act prohibits importing listed species without federal authorization. Permits can be issued for scientific purposes or to enhance the propagation or survival of the species, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must invite public comment before issuing one.
For Zoo Atlanta, that process became public on April 23, 2026, when Fish and Wildlife published notice of the zoo's application in the Federal Register (Permit No. PER22760642). The application covered one male and one female captive-bred giant panda from Chengdu, imported for the purpose of enhancing the propagation or survival of the species. The comment period closed on May 26 with three comments received. As of mid-October, the agency's most recent permit issuance notice did not yet list the permit.
The pandas also come with ‘lease terms.’ China claims ownership of all giant pandas and loans them to zoos abroad, and any cubs born during the loan remain Chinese property. Standard terms are a ten-year lease and a fee of up to $1 million per year, and since 1998 U.S. Fish and Wildlife has required that more than half of that fee go to conservation of wild pandas.
Long lead times are typical for live animal moves. According to Rachel Watkins Rogers, registrar and records coordinator at Zoo Miami, transporting a zoo animal can take a year or more depending on permits, and involves veterinarians, shipping coordinators, trainers and supervisors.
How were the pandas prepared for the trip?
Before leaving China, both pandas spent a month in quarantine, getting used to their travel crates and to loud noises. Visitors to that facility, including ABC News' Britt Clennett, wore full protective equipment to protect the animals.
FedEx describes the crate training process in its own guide to panda shipping: pandas walk through the crate daily, then spend short periods inside with the doors closed. The enclosures are built from steel and plexiglass, with removable side panels that give attendants a full view and access during the flight. On past Panda Express flights, the steel crates have weighed approximately 800 pounds.
Air is the preferred mode for moving zoo animals because it is the quickest and most humane option: animals spend less time confined, which matters because stress can raise an animal's core body temperature.
How did the pandas get from Chengdu to Atlanta?
The move happened in three legs. First, on September 26, vehicles carried the pandas from the Chengdu Research Base to the airport.
Second, FedEx flight FX9756 departed Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 2:55 AM local time and landed in Atlanta around 6:50 AM local time. The trip covered 7,966 miles in approximately 16 hours of non-stop flying. The pandas were the only cargo on board, traveling with fresh bamboo, water and treats. Flying nonstop was possible because of the light load: Boeing's published range for the 777F is 5,000 nautical miles with a full payload of over 100 metric tons, and a nearly empty aircraft can fly considerably farther. By comparison, FedEx's 2023 panda flight from Washington Dulles to Chengdu made a fuel stop in Anchorage.
Third, after landing, the crates were lowered from the aircraft and loaded onto FedEx trucks, which made the 10-mile drive to the zoo with a police escort. The pandas then entered a biosecure area of the zoo's new giant panda complex for a routine quarantine of around a month.
FedEx donated the full cost of transportation. Richard W. Smith, Chief Operating Officer, International, and Chief Executive Officer, Airline at FedEx, said in the company's announcement, "Safely delivering Ping Ping and Fu Shuang to their new home in Atlanta underscores our long-standing commitment to global conservation and our network's ability to securely transport high-priority, precious cargo." Including this move, FedEx has transported 23 pandas to and from China since 2000.
Who traveled with the pandas?
Experienced Zoo Atlanta keepers were sent to China to accompany the pandas, and Sam Rivera, Zoo Atlanta's Vice President of Animal Health and a veterinarian, flew with them. On the Chinese side, keepers in Chengdu had cared for Ping Ping and Fu Shuang for six years.
Some of the team arrived in Atlanta first. Raymond B. King, Zoo Atlanta's President and CEO, explained that Chinese colleagues came ahead of the pandas to confirm the renovated habitat met the appropriate standards, and expected to stay a few months. As he described the collaboration, "It's just a matter of working through the details in the process." According to Xinhua, as reported by CNN, Chinese veterinarians and breeders will remain through quarantine. The habitat, now named the Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove, underwent a $6 million renovation and opens to the public on November 6.
On the carrier side, planning each panda flight involves more than 80 FedEx team members around the world. For the 2023 flight, FedEx says that team met weekly for three months.
Few organizations will ever ship a giant panda, but the move is a clear example of how regulated, high-value shipments come together. The regulatory timeline set the schedule well before any transportation was booked, which is why approvals, permits and public notice periods belong at the front of the plan rather than running alongside it.
The physical move was planned door to door, with preparation at the origin, a dedicated aircraft, ground transport on both ends and a receiving site that had to be ready and inspected before the cargo left. And the plan covered people as well as freight: the specialists who traveled with the shipment and the teams who prepared the destination were as essential to the outcome as the aircraft itself.