Dallas Fort Worth airport gains CEIV Pharma

Dallas Fort Worth airport (DFW) has been awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification.

The Texan hub, which handled around 911,000 tons of airfreight in 2018, is one of only two airports in North America to gain CEIV Pharma certification.

The airport teamed up with four DFW community members as part of the CEIV Pharma programme: ground handler dnata Cargo USA, reefer trucker SCL Cold Chain, warehousing and distribution specialist B.I.G. Logistics and freight forwarder Expeditors.

DFW’s logistics partners participated in the certification process that involved training, pre-validation assessment, audit and validation.

“The collective efforts of our partners to earn the CEIV Community certification demonstrates DFW’s level of commitment to a world-class pharmaceutical handling operation that provides pharma manufacturers and shippers with confidence that their high-value products will be handled with quality, care and efficiency,” said John Ackerman, executive vice president of global strategy and development at DFW Airport.

“The certification brings DFW one step closer to establishing a pharma gateway where manufacturers, shippers, and other stakeholders can send their premium shipments and be assured that our processes will maintain product integrity.”

Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo at IATA, said: “We applaud DFW for its commitment to building a CEIV Pharma community through which it has met the industry’s global quality standards that ensure pharma products will be handled in a safe and reliable manner.

“By DFW’s community obtaining CEIV Pharma certification, the number of organizations worldwide that are contributing to improve pharma handling across the aviation sector has increased, this is very positive.”

DFW’s mid-continent location is accessible by every major US market within four hours or less by air. This can greatly help with air transport of pharma products that are time- and temperature-sensitive, said an airport spokesperson.

Dnata opened a 37,000 sq ft cargo centre at DFW in March 2018 that includes the only dedicated cool-chain perishable cargo facility at the US hub.

The cargo handling centre is suitable for all perishable products and was developed as part of its agreement with AirLogistix USA, which it acquired in 2017.

Additional features include a refrigerated dock with truck doors, dry cargo space to handle a variety of customer needs and a certified customs screening facility for imports and exports. 

David Barker, chief executive of dnata USA, said: “We are proud to be awarded IATA’s prestigious CEIV certification at our new Dallas facility. This achievement demonstrates our commitment to meeting the highest industry standards and further strengthens our position as a global leader in perishable cargo handling.  We continue to invest in infrastructure and technology to deliver safe, quality and innovative services for our customers.”

Air cargo comprises more than half of the $37 billion economic impact that DFW Airport delivers to the North Texas region. DFW’s cargo tonnage has grown more than 45% in the last 10 years.