Air India delivers 1st airport-to-door intn’l pharma shipment

Air India has made its first-ever airport-to-door international cargo delivery. The destination is a warehouse in Brussels – a city not directly served by Air India, and the shipment is six tonnes of life-saving pharmaceuticals that need to stay cool and effective until reaching their destination. The shipment, courtesy of SUN Pharma, was packed into four lower-deck pallets. These drugs require a steady 15 to 25 degrees Celsius to remain effective. The pallets were carefully loaded onto an Air India flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and after landing in Paris, the pallets were transferred to a cool Road Feeder Service (RFS) truck, maintaining that perfect temperature as it rolls through Europe to Brussels. Exactly 36 hours after leaving Delhi, the drugs arrived at the consignee’s warehouse. Transporting pharmaceuticals requires specialised logistics and high levels of precision. Air India recently received the Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification for its cargo business, a testament to the airline’s compliance with international guidelines for safe and secure distribution of pharmaceuticals. Ramesh Mamidala, Head of Cargo, Air India, said, “With the GDP certification, we have now become India’s only carrier with trained staff to manage active pharmaceuticals. These first shipments of our new airport-to-door service is a step forward in progressively pivoting our cargo offering from ‘airport-to-airport’ to world-class ‘airport-to-door’ services, delivered to the highest standards. It’s not just about getting it there, it’s about getting it there right – with precision.”