Virgin Atlantic Cargo has been granted Wholesale Distribution Authorisation (WDA) at its headquarters close to Gatwick Airport, confirming the airline’s compliance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) guidelines.
The airline said it decided to embark on gaining WDA in response to customer demand. Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s WDA accreditation at its headquarters follows its handling partner dnata also gaining WDA for its operation at Heathrow.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo managing director Dominic Kennedy said: “We have been listening to our customers and responding to what they want. WDA was the regulatory compliance they asked us to achieve and now we meet their requirements at both our global headquarters and Pharma Zone [at dnata's Heathrow facility].
"We can measure our customers’ approval by the increasing pharma bookings they are giving us. We are confident 2018 will be a record year for our pharma and life science business as customers commit to airlines like Virgin which are delivering tangible benefits.”
The airline saw pharmaceutical and life science volumes increase by 20% last year and demand is expected to grow further in 2018.
In January, the airline also increased the range of active containers it offers for temperature-controlled cargoes by becoming the first UK airline to approve the use of CSafe’s new RAP unit.
Virgin said its joint venture with Delta Cargo, which has achieved IATA's CEIV Pharma certification in the US, had also helped boost pharma demand by expanding the number of destinations it is able to offer; it now serves a total of 11 US. Demand is also up for pharma services to India and China.
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