Category Archives: Aviation

Turkish Cargo carried the first batch of the Covid-19 vaccines (Sinovac), procured from China by the Ministry of Health, to Turkey. Loaded inside 17 containers equipped with dedicated cooling systems, the Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered to the officials of the Turkey’s Ministry of Health after having been successfully transported from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) to Ankara Esenboga Airport (ESB) via a dedicated flight. Contributing to the continuation of the food and medicine supply chain, Turkish Cargo, on top of its considerable flight network power, has increased its capacity by 30 per cent to lend its support in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The cargo carrier also enhanced its cold chain shipment scale to 25 thousand tonnes per month thanks to the capacity to satisfy additional 150 aircraft pallets, reinforcing its capability for carrying vaccines around the world. Holding the IATA CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) pharma certificate, Turkish Cargo, maintains the cold chain at the optimal conditions with its TK Pharma product which was designed to carry pharmaceuticals such at global standards. Maintaining its continuous dialogue with the pharmaceutical manufacturers, forwarders, airports, ground handling companies and the national authorities, the flag carrier is capable of satisfying a wide range of requirements of the pharmaceutical manufacturers by making use of dedicatedly cooled containers and means such as dry ice for the shipments at ultra-frozen range (-70°C). Turkish Cargo, which creates a global pharmaceutical corridor between more than 400 destinations by transporting pharmaceuticals to the key and certificated destinations such as Mumbai, Brussels, Istanbul, Singapore, Dubai, Basel, London and Amsterdam, reaches more than 300 destinations, 96 of which are direct cargo destinations, and continues to offer service …

FedEx Express Canada with Innomar Strategies started Canada’s first operations to distribute the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine across the country on behalf of the Government of Canada from December 24, when the first shipment arrived at the FedEx Express Canada hub in Toronto. Part of this initial shipment will continue onwards to the territories to facilitate vaccine distribution in Canada’s northern regions. The vaccine roll-out will be facilitated by the vast FedEx Express Canada network, utilising the specialised, cold-chain storage and packaging capabilities of Innomar Strategies, a part of AmerisourceBergen and a leading patient support provider in the Canadian specialty pharmaceutical market. The arrival of the vaccine from Brussels, Belgium, occurred within 48-hours of Health Canada’s approval, a key logistical requirement from the federal government. Meeting the deadline was made possible by extensive collaboration with the government of Canada to move more vaccines from Europe into the country. The delivery of the first Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is notable as it will be the first vaccine to arrive in the Northwest territories. The Canadian roll-out comes shortly after the FedEx network started delivering both the Pfizer-BioNTech and later the Moderna vaccines across the US, beginning mid-December. FedEx is well-positioned to handle Covid-19 vaccine shipments around the world with temperature-control solutions, near real-time monitoring capabilities, and a dedicated healthcare team to support the express transportation of vaccines and bioscience shipments. Innomar will safely and securely store the vaccines in its GMP-compliant Canadian storage facilities across Canada. The storage facilities—which are equipped to store complex pharmaceutical products, including those with cold chain requirements—are temperature-controlled and have a validated monitoring system to protect the vaccine shipments. Before the vaccines are shipped, teams will put them …

Emirates SkyCargo has successfully transport the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 from Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil to Chennai, India. This is the first time that Emirates SkyCargo has transported a space satellite from South America. The satellite is due to be sent to space in February 2021 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on the East coast of India. Emirates SkyCargo had to undertake extensive preparations for this charter flight to ensure the safe and secure transport of the satellite. The air cargo carrier had to apply for special permission to operate a Boeing 777 freighter from Sao Jose dos Campos airport to uplift the satellite. Emirates SkyCargo together with the INPE, the airport and local partners conducted two comprehensive simulation sessions ahead of the transport date to be able to transport the sensitive cargo safely from the airport. During the transportation process, the Amazonia-1 satellite was dismantled into multiple components to facilitate easy loading and unloading from the aircraft. The satellite components were packed inside large containers to avoid any damage during the transport. Overall, the total cargo weighed around 22 tonnes. Four members of the team from INPE also travelled with the satellite to continuously monitor the status of the cargo during the flight from Sao Jose dos Campos to Dubai and then onwards to Chennai, India. Emirates SkyCargo has expertise in transporting satellites and other cargo developed for space technology. In 2018, the carrier transported Khalifasat, the first satellite developed completely by Emirati engineers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre from Dubai to Seoul. Amazonia-1 is the first satellite to have been developed completely in Brazil by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil’s apex body …

With Covid-19 vaccinations starting in Germany, Dachser is stepping up to organise vaccine logistics in the German capital on behalf of the Berlin Senate. Working on behalf of the Berlin Senate, Dachser will manage the vaccine supplies upon their delivery to the central vaccine warehouse. It will also undertake daily quality-assured deliveries to Berlin’s six vaccination centers, eleven hospital pharmacies, and up to sixty mobile vaccination teams. The requisite vaccine equipment will be supplied from a warehouse operated by the logistics provider. “We’ve been working in close collaboration with the Berlin Senate since July this year to store personal protective equipment and rapid coronavirus tests and distribute these to healthcare facilities in the city,” says Olaf Schmidt, General Manager of Dachser’s Berlin-Brandenburg logistics center in Schönefeld. “We’re pleased to be providing our logistics expertise to support this supply chain that is so important for society.”

To fulfil the growing global commitment for storage and transportation of COVID 19 vaccine, as well as other temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals, Skyways Air Services has received GDP Compliance Certification under international WHO (World Health Organisation) norms until December 31, 2023. The certification was completed after detailed scrutiny of various parameters in storage, handling, documentation, transportation and trainings modules which has covered dedicated personnel assigned to the temperature controlled shipments in the range of 2 – 8 degrees and 15 – 25 degrees. With this certification Skyways Air Services joins a select band of Indian logistics companies which are fully compliant to handle COVID-19 vaccine and temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals.

DB Schenker and Cargolux announced a new full charter cargo connection between Luxembourg and Indianapolis, USA, starting in January 2021. With this new agreement both partners expand their well-established 15 year-long partnership. Cargolux’s initial service between its home base in Luxembourg and the Indiana capital was inaugurated in 2005 to support DB Schenker’s business in the region. The successful collaboration has grown over the years and is now cemented through this charter solution. With weekly departures on a Boeing 747 freighter DB Schenker makes Cargolux’s extensive experience in the handling of pharmaceutical and healthcare goods available for its customers in Europe and Northern America. By partnering with the leading provider of transportation services for pharmaceutical and healthcare products and the airline that was, in 2014, the first to be GDP certified, DB Schenker reaches a milestone in setting up its new healthcare service portfolio DB SCHENKERlife+. Veronique Dameme, Head of Global Vertical Market Healthcare at DB Schenker, says, “Our new product portfolio DB SCHENKERlife+ offers exceptional quality, unconditional security and fully reliable logistics services. The cooperation with Cargolux expands the foundation for our robust global GDP program and customized services as Air Track, 24/7 monitoring, packaging supplies or telemetric devices. In such volatile times DB SCHENKERlife+ thus provides urgently needed transparency and predictability.” “Cargolux is pleased to launch this new weekly charter service in collaboration with DB Schenker. Both companies have enjoyed a fruitful and mutually beneficial partnership on this lane over the past 15 years and we are happy to expand on this success”, says Domenico Ceci, Executive Vice- President Sales & Marketing, Cargolux. With pharma handling expertise throughout its network and a dedicated Healthcare Center in Luxembourg, Cargolux is the …

SpiceJet has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pluss Advanced Technologies (PLUSS) for the supply of indigenously developed precise temperature control boxes required for maintaining the effectiveness of the vaccine during transport. According to the MoU, PLUSS will supply its patented product – Celsure®, developed using its proprietary Phase Change Material technology, for transportation of the Covid-19 vaccines from the manufacturer to different parts of the country. The product will be co-branded especially for SpiceJet’s cargo division Spice Xpress and will be made available at various locations across the country. While transporting pharmaceutical products, biological products or vaccines in particular, the need to maintain precise temperature ranges is very important and the efficacy of vaccines can be impacted if the temperature goes above or below the specified range. PLUSS, an India based material solutions company has designed and manufactured a precise temperature-control delivery solution that is required for vaccine delivery to the last mile. “At PLUSS, we have been continuously working towards playing our role in getting India ready to effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, once the vaccine is approved for use. We are particularly happy to join forces with SpiceJet to ensure the delivery of the vaccine using the safest and fastest mode. SpiceJet flies to many non-metro locations and that will help the vaccine reach to the rural hinterlands of India,” says Samit Jain, MD, PLUSS. “Pluss has been a pioneer in ‘Phase Change Material’ based temperature control solutions in India and will be the appropriate partner as we plan on moving the temperature sensitive Covid-19 vaccines across the country. Spice Xpress has the biggest cargo fleet with more than 17 flights. We can cover …

SpiceJet has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) to provide a seamless service to all vaccine manufacturers in the region. As part of this association, SpiceXpress – the cargo arm of SpiceJet – envisions to provide efficient, speedy and reliable solution for vaccine delivery, while also creating a sustainable cold chain network. SpiceXpress aims to provide the first mile pick up and last mile delivery to carry COVID–19 vaccines across the domestic and international markets in a temperature-controlled environment. Under the MoU, GHAC shall provide available required space on priority for SpiceJet’s vaccine shipments besides training its personnel along with the airline for specific customer requirement. SpiceJet on its part will keep a dedicated fleet of freighters including wide-body aircraft at Hyderabad airport to handle all domestic and international consignments. Hyderabad, which is already at the centre stage of India’s Covid-19 vaccine development programme, is expected to be a key hub in the manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine both domestically as well as globally. The association between SpiceJet and GHAC will aid the manufacturers in the region by ensuring seamless delivery of the vaccine. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “We are delighted to have GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo as a partner in our fight against the pandemic. Delivering Covid-19 vaccines safely not just within India but across the globe is a task we are fully committed to. With strong partners and our capability to transport extremely sensitive drugs and vaccines in controlled temperatures of up to -40°c, we feel that we are fully prepared to assist in the biggest vaccination drive in the history of mankind.” As part of its …

Emirates SkyCargo has flown COVID-19 vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, to the UAE for the first time for the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). On arrival at DXB, the containers with the vaccines were unloaded on priority from the aircraft and then taken to Emirates SkyCargo’s dedicated pharma facility Emirates SkyPharma to await clearance for delivery. Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior, Vice President, Cargo says, “At Emirates SkyCargo we are doing our part to join Dubai’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the effective management of the pandemic by Dubai’s visionary leadership, the city has retained its position as a global logistical hub for connecting vital cargo including PPE, medical supplies, vaccines, food and other essential items. Emirates SkyCargo has set up the world’s largest airside hub dedicated to distributing COVID-19 vaccines and we stand ready to support not just Dubai, but countries around the world, including markets with limited cool chain infrastructure with our advanced capabilities. By transporting COVID-19 vaccines across our extensive network, we look forward to helping people around the world get back on their feet after the devastating impact of the pandemic.” Emirates SkyCargo is no stranger to transporting vaccines and other temperature sensitive pharmaceutical cargo. The carrier has more than two decades experience in transporting pharmaceuticals on its aircraft and has set up state of the art EU GDP certified facilities dedicated for storing and handling pharma cargo in Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo has also established a global Pharma Corridors programme working with ground handlers and local airports at major pharma origin and destination stations for enhanced cool chain protection. The current pharma network covers over 30 cities across the world including Brussels.

In view of the approvals of various COVID-19 vaccines in many countries, Lufthansa Cargo has announced that the cargo carrier is well prepared for their global distribution in the coming months. Air freight is indispensable for the fast and reliable intercontinental distribution of highly sensitive pharmaceuticals. Therefore, a dedicated task force has prepared a variety of possible transport scenarios since spring. “The distribution of temperature- and time-sensitive pharmaceuticals is extremely demanding. We were one of the first airlines to specialise in the transport of medical goods and pharmaceuticals and can therefore draw on many years of experience. Thanks to the recent expansion of our ground infrastructure, we can also handle larger volumes and transport them worldwide while supporting our customers to maintain the cold chain,” explained Peter Gerber, CEO, Lufthansa Cargo. “In 2019, we transported around 100,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals. We are ready to make another important contribution to overcoming the pandemic by distributing the vaccines worldwide.” While the transport of COVID-19 vaccines is already available with Lufthansa Cargo the company now announced a premium product to its customers that was specifically developed for the transport of COVID-19 vaccines. The product called COVID-19 Temp Premium will be bookable as of January 11, 2021 and will provide a high level of comprehensive and personalized customer service along the travel chain, including seamless monitoring of vaccine shipments throughout the entire process and a 24/7 after sales support. Additionally, COVID-19 Temp Premium includes high priority capacity access, Lufthansa Cargo’s fastest speed option in combination with temperature focus and a comprehensive security concept as well as bookability throughout the entire Lufthansa Cargo network. For the transport of pharmaceuticals, three temperature ranges (based on the …