Two giant pandas land in Atlanta on a 16-hour FedEx flight

Two giant pandas from China, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of 27 September 2026, flying in aboard a FedEx Panda Express Boeing 777 aircraft. Zoo Atlanta confirmed the arrival, which returns pandas to the zoo for the first time since its previous animals left for China in October 2024.cbsnews.com

The arrival matters because it ends a gap in Zoo Atlanta's panda programme and adds a third U.S. zoo holding giant pandas. Zoo Atlanta had kept pandas under an agreement with China from 1999 until 2024, when Lun Lun, Yang Yang and their two youngest cubs, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, returned to China. The new loan runs for 10 years.cbsnews.com

Why the return matters to Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta president and chief executive Raymond B. King called the arrival a historic moment for the city of Atlanta, the state of Georgia and beyond, and said the zoo was elated to welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang. King also said the zoo is honoured to partner with the China Wildlife Conservation Association on giant panda conservation work.abc7chicago.com

The pandas travelled as part of a new giant panda conservation agreement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the loan during a visit to the White House, saying the giant panda has been an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and Americans and that the two pandas would come to their new home in Zoo Atlanta.

The journey covered nearly 8,000 miles and took 16 hours in the air, with the pandas carried in a private plane fitted with custom crates and supplied with fresh bamboo, water and treats. After touching down in Atlanta, the animals received a police escort from the airport to Zoo Atlanta, according to the zoo's account of the transfer.

How the pandas made the journey

Both pandas were born in 2020 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. Ping Ping, the male, is described as plump with a love of food, and his keepers say he tends to follow them around. Fu Shuang, the female, is described as smart and playful, with a fondness for apples.today.com

Ping Ping has dark black circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang has a forehead that protrudes a little, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Fu Shuang's name translates as double happiness. A panda keeper, Wang Shun, said keepers hide pieces of apple under trees and Fu Shuang finds them everywhere, describing her behaviour as clever.

Where the pandas came from

Zoo Atlanta will keep Ping Ping and Fu Shuang in a biosecure area of its new giant panda complex for about a month of quarantine, and they will not be visible to visitors during that period. The zoo said it will announce a later date for the public debut, and park officials have not confirmed a specific opening date.

Zoo Atlanta's original giant panda agreement with China began in 1999, and during the 25-year partnership pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang had seven cubs. Zoo Atlanta is now one of three U.S. zoos holding giant pandas and the only one in the Southeast; the National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo both received pandas from China in 2024.