Emirates SkyCargo expands pharma facilities in Dubai

Emirates SkyCargo has extended its pharma facility at its hub in Dubai.

The carrier’s GDP-certified facility now covers an additional 2,600 sq m of temperature-controlled warehousing, capable of storing goods between 2 and 25 degrees Celsius.

With the extension, the carrier said, the pharma facility can hold an estimated 60-90m doses of coronavirus vaccines.

In total, Emirates SkyCargo’s pharma facilities in Dubai make use of 50 cool dollies and cover an area of more than 20,000 sq m. 

To date, Emirates SkyCargo has transported more than 75m doses of Covid-19 vaccines — and thousands of tonnes of PPE and medical supplies — on more than 250 flights to over 60 destinations in its network.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Divisional senior vice president of cargo, commented: “The last six months have been a valuable and mutual learning experience for Emirates SkyCargo, as well for pharmaceutical manufacturers and our logistics partners.

“We have been able to apply these learnings to make the process of vaccine transportation faster and more efficient, providing a valuable boost to the next phase of Covid-19 vaccine transportation, as well as for other temperature-sensitive pharma products in the future.” 

Emirates SkyCargo recently set up a humanitarian airbridge initiative to transport urgent Covid-19 relief items to India. Under the initiative, the carrier is offering any available cargo capacity on its flights from Dubai to nine destinations in India, free of charge, to non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

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