ANA Cargo has partnered with CSafe Global to introduce the CSafe RKN and RAP to its air cargo container fleet, which would add more capacity as the vaccine drive slowly picks up in Japan.

ANA Cargo followed a rigorous testing process before announcing the approval for use on aircraft and will manage RKN and RAP container leases through its pharma handling service Prio Pharma. The carrier is confident these active container options will offer shippers and freight forwarders ‘continued assurance of compliance and temperature control.’

“We are happy to announce our partnership with CSafe. As the only Japanese IATA CEIV Pharma certified airline since 2017, we have been expanding our capabilities to transport temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals at the global standard and beyond,” noted Norihiko Kurata, director of global marketing at ANA Cargo.

“Now more than ever, transporting pharmaceuticals safely is a social mission for us. We want to cater to every customers’ needs various pharmaceuticals including vaccines. The addition of CSafe to our product lineup is our commitment to our valued customers,” he added.

CSafe said these active air cargo units can maintain constant payload temperatures even at extreme ambient temperatures spanning from -30°C to +49°C RKN and -30°C to +54°C (RAP).

The RAP option can easily accommodate up to four standard US pallets or five standard European pallets and run for more than 130 hours on battery, whilst the CSafe RKN variety can last 120 hours.

This could be a timely move for the Japanese carrier as the country faces some road blocks in its inoculation drive, with experts and officials citing a lack of containers and dry ice, according to Reuters.

Japan has purchased enough Pfizer vaccines to inoculate 72 million people, Payload Asia learned, but companies that specialise in moving medicines said there may not be enough specialised containers to meet the temperature requirements of the vaccine, which has to be stored at -75°C, much colder than standard freezers.