WFS adds new Copenhagen pharma facility

Cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is to invest in a new pharma facility at Copenhagen Airport.
Construction of the new facility will begin in April and the new building will cover an area of 1,500 sq m  and will provide end-to-end handling in a temperature-controlled environment for 2-8°C pharma products incorporating acceptance, offload, pre-storage, build-up and storage.
Accessible through four dedicated cargo doors, the facility will accept loose shipments and pre-built units, offering a storage area large enough for 300 EUR pallets and 30 PMC pallets.
WFS expects the construction process to be completed in time for the new building to undergo IATA CEIV Pharma pre-assessment in July.
WFS is also upgrading the existing temperature control areas in its current facility in Copenhagen to handle growing volumes of pharma products requiring a 15-25°C temperature range.
Since opening the first stage of its pharma infrastructure in Copenhagen at the end of 2017 – a temperature-controlled ULD storage area with the capacity to handle 16 units – WFS has seen its volume of pharma shipments grow by 90%.
WFS  general manager Scandinavia, Jimi Daniel Hansen, said: “There is already a fast-growing demand for high quality handling of pharma shipments at Copenhagen Airport. Our commitment to significantly increase our facilities will provide the capacity for future growth and establish Copenhagen as a world class airport for pharma cargoes."
The move has also been welcomed by major airlines carrying pharma traffic to and from the Danish airport.
Michael Schoop, head of sales and handling, Denmark & Iceland, at Lufthansa Cargo, said: “Over the last years, Lufthansa Cargo has invested in its own infrastructure, certification and training and is pleased to offer a broad variety of passive and active cooled pharma air cargo solutions worldwide.
"To meet our high, certified quality standards on a global level, we are also cooperating with selected local partners and are pleased to work with Worldwide Flight Services in Copenhagen. We appreciate that our customers will benefit from WFS’s investment in a dedicated pharma warehouse at Copenhagen Airport.”
Nete Kilting Staffeldt, cargo manager Nordic at Singapore Airlines, added: ”Singapore Airlines is very pleased about the news regarding WFS’s new pharma facilities in CPH. This will definitely support the ambition to further enhance our pharma product competencies and add value for our customers.”
Air Cargo News has a Nordic feature in its March 2019 edition