ABC and K+N partner to carry out B747-8F pharma charter flight

AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has teamed up with Kuehne+Nagel to carry out a pharma charter flight from Leipzig (Germany) to Guangzhou (China) via Novosibirsk (Russia).

More than 500,000 vials of temperature-sensitive human albumin were packaged in Tyvek thermo covers and transported in 19 ULDs on the Boeing 747-8F flight.

Nikolay Glushnev, general director, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, commented: “With most of the anti-Covid-19 shipments switching to slow logistics, we could use this period to test our capabilities for vaccine transportation.

“Although we have not used special containers for this particular charter flight, it is still essential to guarantee that all the stakeholders are ready for a considerable batch of pharma shipments. Furthermore, it is important to keep the regular flow of medicines, which were previously rescheduled or postponed with priorities given to Covid-19 cargo.”

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Jon Chapman, vice president pharma and healthcare services at Kuehne+Nagel, added: “Kuehne+Nagel has assessed the impact of the upcoming Covid-19 vaccine demand and are ramping-up capabilities to address arising requirements of additional capacity, dedicated resources, quality and compliance, and infrastructure.

“Regular exchange on current and future capabilities, as well as the successful execution of temperature-sensitive shipments with AirBridgeCargo Airlines, confirms that jointly we will ensure fast, safe and secure transportation of vaccines and supporting materials (e.g. syringes) to the world.”

AirBridgeCargo and other carriers within the Volga-Dnepr Group offer a ‘clean charter’ service, which includes the disinfection of cargo and aircraft cabin compartments, as well as providing  PPE, regular Covid-19 tests and medical checks for crew. In addition, cargo is transported along special ‘clean corridors’ in the airports.