Pharaoh Ramses II’s Coffin Transported by Air France to Paris

The coffin of Ramses II, which was carried on an Air France Airbus A350, was flown from Cairo to Paris last week.

It's not the first time.

A330-200, A310 and A340 aircraft make up the majority of the French presidential fleet. It is fitting, therefore, that Airbus carries the coffin of an ancient leader.

Ramses II, also known as Ramesses the Great was the ruler of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. The sarcophagus the pharaoh, which was originally housed in France in 1976 for nearly 50 years, is now returning to Paris via loan from Egypt.

Grande Halle de la Villette will host a special exhibition called Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Egyptian Pharaohs between April 7th through September 6th.

According to AIRLIVE registration F-HTYS was an A350-900 that was assigned with the transport of Ramses II's coffin. The plane landed at Cairo Airport on March 27, 2012. The twinjet then loaded the sarcophagus before it made its way to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, March 28th. CDG was reached at 06:50 local.

F-HTYS has been nicknamed Biscarrosse after a French commune. Air France received the widebody in September 2022. It is less than a year old. It is one of the 20 A350s housed within the airline's facilities. The newcomer, however, was quickly able to complete the job, as he had to transport such an important artifact.

Archaeologists discovered Ramses II's corpse at the Royal Cache in 1881. It is currently on display at Cairo's National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. It was subject to irradiation to kill bacteria and fungi the last time it traveled to Paris. In May 1977, it was returned to Egypt.

Egypt is grateful for the care given to the mummy. This is why the rare trip that the sarcophagus made to Europe this year. Egypt Independent reports that the unit is now empty because of Egyptian laws prohibiting royal mummies leaving Egypt.

The coffin will remain in place for tourists to see over the next six-months. After the exhibition, it will be returned to Egypt by Air France or Airbus.

 

Source: simpleflying.com