Priority Freight flew the nearly 900kg of parts directly out of the Serbian capital Belgrade on a charter to Ostend airport in Belgium, where they were transported by road to Schiphol for transfer to the international flight to Johannesburg. From there the parts were taken the final 600 miles on a private charter twin-prop. The whole trip took less than 48 hours and the carmaker was able to restart production.

Mercedes-Benz has an assembly plant in East London and several suppliers in Serbia, but it is unconfirmed that the expedited shipment was for the German carmaker.

Managing disruption to the supply chain has become the norm in the automotive industry and logistics providers are tasked daily with ensuring the delivery of components, whether it be in the face of ongoing Covid-19 problems, the semiconductor shortage or the current war in Ukraine.