Etihad Cargo launches new pharma service

Etihad Cargo has launched PharmaLife, a specialised pharma and healthcare product which replaces the carrier’s TempCheck product.

The company said the service will be available at  54 stations but will focus on key its gateways including Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Chicago, Paris, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hyderabad, London, Milan, Melbourne, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

The service offers both active and passive container solutions for various temperature requirements. The airline also pointed out that it has already gained IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification for pharmaceutical logistics.

“The pandemic prompted a reassessment of our top-level services to ensure we can address the specific requirements for shipping high volumes of in-demand product in very short timescales,” explained Andre Blech, head of operations and service delivery at Etihad Cargo.

“To avoid last minute pressure once a vaccine is approved, we have established a dedicated Covid-19 vaccines workforce composed of a steering committee and a working group to manage all anticipated elements.”

Blech added: “Our intention is to continuously expand our pharma trade lanes, which requires collaboration with industry partners. By working with equipment suppliers, general handling agents (GHAs), and associations, we can share knowledge and build trust across the industry that will result in the highest quality industry standard for sustainable quality that our customers deserve.

“A core part of this is through working with our GHAs to offer cool dollies or thermo trucks for key destinations; dependent upon viability, we could look into an advanced lease model for this kind of equipment as currently, due to tarmac constraints, cool dollies and thermo trucks are quite rare and expensive.”