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Issue 6 2019 - FBJNA Envirotainer being loaded into an United Airlines plane. (UnitedCargo photo)
///AIR CARGO PHARMA
back that more and more pharma was being produced that required temperature control,” said Jimmy Nares, MDAD’s Section
and introduced or elevated With
By Karen E. Thuermer air
cargo loosing
out to ocean shipping for pharmaceutical
shipments,
efforts have been underway throughout the air cargo industry to reclaim its role and recapture business in this high value business sector. Air cargo may never be able
to offer the cost advantage of ocean transport, but it can provide speed and quality handling. Still, several factors are critical to maintaining air cargo’s edge: compliance, standardization, accountability, and transparency.
For one,
pharmaceuticals must be delivered on schedule to protect their value. They also require special handling protocols. In many countries, drug manufacturers are
required to follow the industry’s Good Distribution Practices (GDPs), guidelines that ensure their products are consistently stored, transported and handled according to product specifications. Many pharma products are highly sensitive to temperature, humidity, pressure, and sunlight.
cannot be leſt on the tarmac during any part of transit, particularly in hot or cold climates. While
the GDPs have
elevated standards involving the pharmaceutical supply chain, the International
Air
Transport Association (IATA) has created a set of standards that go beyond GDP. Working alongside aviation industry stakeholders and regulators, in
2013 IATA created the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma), to help organizations and the entire air cargo supply chain to get on the right track to achieve pharmaceutical
handling They
excellence. As IATA keenly states: a concentrated effort is urgently needed to improve the level of competency
as well as operational and technical preparedness to stop the alarming decline of air cargo’s market share of global pharmaceutical product transport. The air cargo industry has largely embraced CEIV Pharma. While many players are still not IATA Pharma certified, many in the industry have made this sector a priority
Emirates SkyCargo’s new purpose-built pharma facility in ORD. (Emirates SkyCargo photo.)
solutions and programs to ensure the fast and safe handling of pharmaceutical products. Here’s FBJNA’s look at what has been going on.
Airport Strategic Plays
Miami International Airport offers a good case study example of what a collection of air cargo-related companies can do when making a strategic play for this industry sector. First, officials at Miami- Dade Aviation Department (MDAD), the operator of Miami International Airport (MIA), saw pharma as a natural extension given MIA’s strength in perishables. The airport handles 63% of all perishables that come into US. Most, particularly flowers, require refrigeration and special handling. “We noticed a few years
Chief of
Aviation Marketing. “We also saw pharma as a promising sector for growth, given the world’s
growing (and aging)
population, and larger middle class.”
Airport officials knew that
to make pharmaceuticals a successful sector at MIA it needed to work in conjunction with
its tenants throughout
the airport system: the airlines, ground handlers, freight forwarders, etc. “Our approach was to work
with local cargo community and encourage them to develop their capabilities to handle cold chain pharma,” Nares said. “The cornerstone of our strategy was to encourage these tenants to become IATA CEIV certified.” As a result, in 2015, IATA
recognized MIA as the first pharma hub in North America and second worldwide behind Brussels International Airport (BRU). At that time, MIA
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