Climate Control Centre, an airside transit facility for pharmaceuticals, was also certified. It has two temperature-controlled zones operating at both 2 to 8°C and 15 to 25°C, with a capacity to hold a total of 156 ULDs (unit load devices) at a time.
Qatar Airways Cargo has been awarded IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification for its operations in Doha, underscoring the airline’s expertise and efficient handling of pharmaceuticals and life science products.
Its ground handling partner, Qatar Aviation Services Cargo, also received the IATA CEIV Pharma certification for its pharma handling and warehouse at Hamad International Airport (DOH).
Along with the cargo warehouse and temperature-controlled sections at DOH, the cargo carrier’s state-of-the-art Climate Control Centre, an airside transit facility for pharmaceuticals, was also certified.
It has two temperature-controlled zones operating at both 2 to 8°C and 15 to 25°C, with a capacity to hold a total of 156 ULDs (unit load devices) at a time.
QR Cargo said it has invested in quality handling, infrastructure, facilities, people and procedures at each of its pharma stations and plans are underway to add IoT (Internet of Things) devices on board its aircraft to provide real-time temperature updates to enhance its track and trace service.
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The significant investments in the cool chain and expansion of its pharma network are part of the cargo carrier’s strategy and commitment to improve and enhance its QR Pharma product, which posted 14.5 percent volume growth in 2019.
“Since we launched the product in 2014, significant investment and enhancements have been made to the QR Pharma product and our world-class hub, which ultimately benefits our customers,” said Guillaume Halleux, CEO of QR Cargo.
“The validation by IATA is a milestone achievement and an award for all the hard work done over the past years since the QR Pharma product launch,” he added.
CEIV Pharma is an industry-wide standard that addresses the industry’s need for safety, security, compliance and efficiency through a globally consistent and recognised pharmaceutical product handling certification.
“The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on air cargo for its speed and efficiency,” said Nick Careen, IATA SVP for airport, passenger, cargo and security at IATA.
“As an industry, we have a duty to ensure that global standards and best practices are in place so that life science and pharmaceutical products are handled and transported accordingly and in cooperation between business partners to provide the high-quality services that customers demand, to ultimately safeguard patient safety,” he noted.
