Emirates SkyCargo receives award for pharma cool chain capabilities

Emirates SkyCargo has been named as the ‘Safest Global Airline Partner’ for the year 2021 for the transportation of temperature sensitive pharmaceutical shipments by SkyCell, one of the leading global manufacturers of specialised containers for the transportation of sensitive pharmaceuticals by air. The title was awarded to Emirates on the basis of SkyCell’s global shipment data for pharmaceutical cargo which ranked carriers on a number of criteria including stability of transport temperature conditions across a range of origins and destinations.

The award is an important validation of Emirates SkyCargo’s extensive cool chain infrastructure and capabilities dedicated for the transportation of pharmaceuticals and the carrier’s ability to maintain an unbroken cool chain during the air transportation process. Over the last five years, the air cargo carrier has invested significantly in the development of purpose-built, EU GDP certified infrastructure for pharma transport at its hub and working closely with its ground handling partners at major pharma origins and destinations across the world to ensure enhanced protection for temperature sensitive pharmaceutical cargo.  Emirates has also invested in a dedicated fleet of over 50 Cool Dollys for pharmaceutical cargo for temperature protection on the ramp at Dubai.

Emirates SkyCargo has been working with SkyCell since 2017 when it integrated SkyCell’s temperature controlled containers into its portfolio of container solutions offered to pharma customers. SkyCell’s containers use an innovative material technology to maintain sensitive cargo at a stable temperature even under extreme outside temperatures for a period of several days.  Emirates SkyCargo maintains a dedicated stock of SkyCell containers at Dubai for availability at short notice for global pharma customers.

During the calendar year 2021, there was a growth of over 30% in the total number of pharma lanes on which SkyCell containers were deployed by Emirates. This is in line with the increased focus on the transportation of temperature-sensitive medicines and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, Emirates SkyCargo primarily flew SkyCell containers to and from destinations across Europe, Middle East, South Asia and Australasia as well as other destinations.

Emirates SkyCargo is one of the world’s leading carriers for the air transportation of pharmaceutical cargo, flying on an average over 200 tonnes of pharma every day on its aircraft. The carrier has also flown more than 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and thousands of tonnes of essential pharmaceuticals and supplies across six continents to battle the pandemic. Emirates SkyCargo offers customers cargo capacity on its modern and all wide-body fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft operating to more than 140 destinations across the world.