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To attract more pharma, air cargo firms create certified trade lanes

WITH competition heating up in the air cargo industry to attract temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals, shippers are increasingly being offered certified door-to-door services on dedicated trade lanes.

Last year Swiss WorldCargo, Cargologic and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) announced the establishment of a 搒ecure temperature-controlled, quality corridor" to move such cargo between Singapore and Zurich.

The three parties said they had synchronised cargo handling facilities and procedures to deliver accurate and reliable handling on the ground and in the air.

Carologic and SATS are both certified to IATA CEIV and GDP standards, reported London's Loadstar.

Luxembourg Airport is also now partnering with Shanghai terminal operator Eastern Air Logistics (EAL) to implement a GDP-certified end-to-end trade lane.

The agreement, signed at Air Cargo China in Shanghai last week, includes a commitment to maintain a fully GDP-secured trade lane for time and temperature-sensitive healthcare products between Luxembourg and Shanghai's Hongqiao and Pudong airports.

Lux-Airport chief executive Johan Vanneste said: 揥e signed a similar agreement last year with Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL), and this was, we believe, the first time this was done in the world. Meanwhile I have discovered we have been copied a few times by certain airports and airline groups."

Many airports and airlines have taken steps to become certified through either GDP or IATA's CEIV programme, to convince shippers the temperature of their lucrative healthcare products will remain consistent and excursion-free when handled and transported by truck and by plane between Europe and Asia.

Meanwhile, Emirates SkyCargo is also hoping to boost its pharma cargo credentials by gaining GDP certification.

Vice-president Ravi Mirle said: "Five per cent of our volumes are now perishables and we are placing a lot of emphasis on pharma. Our cargo terminal in Dubai is going to be GDP certified in two months' time and we are hopeful that will stimulate a lot of interest."