NEWS FROM FREIGHT
HANDLERS GLOBALLY CARGO SHORTS
Vaccine Distribution-
Industry update
AIRPORT VOICE, DECEMBER 2020 21
Air Cargo has been the exception
in sustained business during
the pandemic crisis. The reasons are
that they Initially brought millions
of pounds of PPE to airports around
the nation when desperately needed,
then they used the passenger cabins
in commercial aircraft to move
goods, now they are beginning to be
the cold chain distribution for Covid
vaccines being developed around the
globe. Verta0n vaccines require sub
zero temperatures and require the
use of dry0ice. The FAA is allowing
exemptions for the restricted weight
and allowing more with special dispensations
that require a high lever
of safety.
For the first out-of-the-gate vaccine
from Pfizer, this vaccine was approved
by both the FDA and CDC over this
past week, initial doses delivered Sunday,
and first inoculations were given
to Northwell Health in Queens Monday
morning the 14th..
Within 48 hours of approval, vaccines
were being shipped across the
country by UPS and Fedex. Other vaccines
from overseas were being quietly
delivery in small quantities from overseas
into JFK International airport.
Police escorts accompanied the deliveries
to secreted locations in preparation
for the final mile of distribution
Special shipping cartons for the
vaccine have been constructed to contain
thousands of doses of the medication
packed within fry ice. Cargo operators
are seeking FAA exemption
for additional weight for more dryice.
This initial dry ice is said to last
for 10 days, so no long term storage in
anticipated since all the vaccines will
be used within the week to the most
important essential workers including
front line health professionals and
nursing and old age home residents,
all who are the most likely to become
infected. Governor Cuomo said that
170,000 doses were delivered throughout
the state.
IATA vaccine
“The guidance includes a repository
of international standards and
guidelines related to the transport of
vaccines and will be updated regularly
as information is made available to
the industry,” IATA said. It added that
guidance was created with the support
of numerous partners, including:
the International Civil Aviation Organization,
International Federation of
Freight Forwarders Associations, International
Federation of Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers and Associations,
Pan American Health Organization,
UK Civil Aviation Authority, World
Bank, World Customs Organization
and the World Trade Organization.
https://www.iata.org/cargo/
United
United was the first commercial
airline to fly the first FDA-authorized
COVID-19 vaccines to the U.S. United
operated five cargo-only flights in
early December delivering COVID-19
vaccines from Brussels to Chicago.
United has the ability to carry more
than a million doses of vaccine on a
single 777-200 aircraft
United Airlines Holdings Inc. secured
FAA approval last month to
boost its dry-ice allowance to 15,000
pounds from 3,000 pounds, for chartered
cargo flights between Brussels
International Airport and Chicago
O’Hare International Airport to support
distribution of the Pfizer and
BioNTech vaccine. A United spokeswoman
said the airline “has effective
procedures in place to ensure we
safely handle all the hazardous materials
we are permitted to carry on
board our aircraft.”
Fedex, UPS
Pfizer chose not to utilize the Federal
Warp Speed method of delivery
and instead chose to work with Fedex
and UPS for its initial deliveries. Both
logistics companies used planes and
trucks to begin moving the vaccine on
Sunday December 14 across the country
and into Canada.
American Airlines
delivers
Cargo team transported its first
shipment mid week. In close collaboration
with pharmaceutical and
cargo partners, AA received the vaccine
by truck at ORD and loaded the
shipment onto a Boeing 777-200 aircraft
flying to MIA. The vaccine made
its way to a U.S. territory in the Caribbean
today. “The American team is
proud to be a part of the critical effort
to get lifesaving vaccine safely and
quickly to people around the world,”
said Cargo President Jessica Tyler.
“We were able to mobilize within
hours of getting the call to move
thousands of doses. We know this is
the first of many shipments to come,
and we are ready to scale our operation
as additional vaccine is produced
and ready for distribution.” AA has a
25,000-square-foot temperature-controlled
cargo storage facility at the
American Airlines cargo terminal in
Philadelphia where the coolers prepare
the next temperature-sensitive
shipment to be loaded .
Virgin Atlantic / Pharma
Virgin said it designed its services
to support all sensitivies with passive
and active solutions, which maintain
the temperature you need, from the
start of the journey right through to
the end.
Their global services have GDP
accreditation (WDA), representing
a stamp of approval from the MHRA
across our processes, training and
quality management system. This service
offering for temperature sensitive
shipments also benefits from the co-location
of our handling operation with
Delta Cargo at major UK and US gateways,
who continue to expand their
IATA CEIV programme.
Delta
Delta Air Lines Inc. said it had received
FAA approval to double the allowed
load of dry ice on its Airbus
A330 and A350 wide-body jets, and six
times the prior allowed load for shipments
using a special suitcase-sized
storage container that Pfizer designed.
Delta has done trial runs with vaccine
cargoes from Europe and to Latin
America, and within the U.S., all on
cargo-only flights.
Csafe transporting
vaccine
The CSafe RAP uses innovative
heating and compressor-driven cooling
technologies, along with advanced
VIP insulation, to maintain constant
payload temperatures even at extreme
ambient temperatures spanning from
-30°C to +54°C – the broadest operating
range in the industry. Its large payload
compartment of 6.68m3 easily accommodates
up to four standard U.S. pallets
or five standard Euro pallets. With
an extended battery run time of more
than 120 hours, the CSafe RAP ensures
temperature integrity and product viability
through to destination even on
extended journeys.
AGI
AGI opens their new facility at La-
Guardia Airport in New York City
with warehouse operations supporting
American Airlines and Southwest
Airlines.
Etihad
Etihad Cargo, which has recently
reinforced its pharmaceutical logistics
expertise with the launch of PharmaLife,
a specialised pharma and
healthcare product, was the first carrier
in the Middle East to receive IATA’s
CEIV (Centre of Excellence for Independent
Validators) certification in
pharmaceutical logistics.
Cool Chain
The Cool Chain Association (CCA)
has launched a Covid-19 Distribution
Change Management Matrix aimed at
supporting airports to prepare their
logistics for COVID-19 vaccines in a
methodical way.
Merry Christmas &
Seasons Greetings
to all our Friends in our Airport Community
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