One of Chicago O’Hare’s most unusual passengers is flying out today, with a ticket to Amsterdam, and eventually nearby Leiden. And she’s going with 13,000 pounds of checked baggage.
Actually, Trix the Tyrannosaurus rex, whose ‘passport’ is above, IS the checked baggage. Her 66-million-year-old bones, one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons anywhere, are on their way to the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Up to now, she’s been a long-term (very) resident of Montana.
There’s a send-off party scheduled for today, with visitors able to watch the crates being loaded, watch the KLM staff check the passport, and even get their pictures taken (on green screen) with Trix. Among the guests, a 72-foot Brachiosaurus belonging to Chicago’s Field Museum, but which ‘lives’ on the upper level of Terminal 1.
As for buckling up her seatbelt? Anne Schulp, head of paleontology at Naturalis told USA Today: “The small crates are filled with what we lovingly call ‘museum foam’ that has perfectly measured holes in which the individual bones fit exactly. They are packed entirely shockproof so that, even after a turbulent flight, the bones still look their best when they come out of the crates.”
When you’re that senior a citizen, no more economy class seats!
