Lufthansa Cargo has become the sixth airline to be awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification.
The German airline said that over the past few months independent specialists had reviewed the airline’s processes when transporting pharmaceutical products. The airline’s Frankfurt Cool Centre was also certified.
“Pharmaceutical shipments are extremely challenging and demand maximum reliability from airlines. Adhering to the required temperature is crucial to ensure medication can be used as planned following shipping,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, board member product and sales at Lufthansa Cargo.
“Being one of the first airlines worldwide to receive IATA's new international certificate is the fruit of the work we have done on our Cool/td product over the last few years.”
Lufthansa said it had invested heavily in its pharma products over the last few years, including the development of a refrigerated container with no need for dry ice, and the Cool Centre, which has direct access to the Frankfurt apron and four cold-storage rooms.
“We continue to see good growth opportunities in pharmaceutical shipping”, Alexis von Hoensbroech clarifies.
“CEIV certification by IATA – combined with further innovations and product improvements – will help make us an even more attractive proposition to our customers from the pharmaceutical industry. That's why we will continue to invest in our infrastructure and processes,” said von Hoensbroech.
Other airlines that have achieved the certification are: Finnair, CAL, Air France KLM, Cargolux and Turkish Cargo.
