Panda One taxis to the Federal Express Cargo area at Washington Dulles International Airport.

A Federal Express MD-11 jet carrying two new giant pandas from China landed at Washington Dulles International Airport December 6th. The two pandas are now at their new home at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C..

The two pandas, a three-year old male named Tian Tian and a two-year-old female named Mei Xiang made the 17-hour flight from Chengdu, China to Dulles Airport, with one stop in Anchorage, Alaska. Upon landing, the “PandaOne” airplane, which had a painting of the two passengers on its side, taxied to the Federal Express Cargo area where the pandas were carefully loaded onto a truck and taken to the National Zoo.

Washington Dulles International Airport is proud to have been the gateway to the United States for these two rare and lovable animals.