IATA has announced that Brussels Airport is to become the first European hub for pharmaceutical freight using IATA’s global certification program for shipping cold-chain pharmaceuticals. The IATA Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV Pharma) is a standardized global certification program that trains and conducts onsite assessments to provide the expertise needed to transport cold-chain pharmaceutical products around the world.
Brussels Airport will also invite a group of ten local stakeholders, including ground handlers, freight forwarders, road haulage companies and airlines, to undergo the CEIV Pharma training.
IATA DG and CEO Tony Tyler said: "IATA has been working very hard with our stakeholders to ensure product integrity for these types of shipments. The CEIV Pharma certification program provides participants in the air cargo value chain with the tools to ensure that they are operating to the highest standards for the transport of what in many cases are life-saving drugs and medicines. And it will give pharmaceutical companies confidence and assurance that their cold-chain logistics requirements are being met through an independent certification process."
The global pharmaceutical industry will spend $8.36 billion on cold chain logistics in 2014, and is expected to expand to more than $10 billion by 2018.
Brussels Airport becomes Europe’s first pharmaceutical freight hub under IATA’s CEIV Pharma certification
