Pastels are often perceived to be delicate and people often prefer oils etc because of that.
I have been shipping framed pet portraits around the UK and unframed pet portraits all over the world. Shipping framed abroad is expensive due to the weight and risk of breakage. So I tend to either send them mounted or just the painting. I make a very safe box which is reinforced with cardboard and they are very safe and secure. You can open them up like a book that can be resealed but it keeps the painting safe until you are ready to frame it.
It is never a good idea to touch the surface of the pastel of course but once it is behind glass it is very safe. For my pet paintings I use pastelmat paper which is very grippy and doesn’t really shed pastel dust.
I only use the most lightfast pigments for my pet portraits, but with any piece of art it is never a good idea to hang it in direct sunlight.
Hopefully that will reassure any of you concerning the durability of pastels