Turkish Cargo, the air freight arm of Turkish Airlines, the airline flying to the highest number of international destinations in the world, has been awarded IATA’s ‘Center of Excellence for Independent Validators’ (CEIV) in Pharmaceutical Logistics at its Istanbul hub.
The successful completion of IATA’s CEIV pharma certification process by Turkish Cargo reinforces the airline’s commitment to meeting the high standards set by the pharmaceutical industry and legislators globally in the transportation of delicate, extremely temperature- and time-critical consignments such as vaccines, biotechnological products, diagnostic samples, precision healthcare devices, organs and tissues.
”Transportation of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products is a priority for Turkish Cargo. As we continue to expand our operations in this area we remain committed to ensuring that we are operating to the highest possible quality standards. Achieving IATA CEIV Pharma certification means that our customers can have the confidence that their sensitive cargo will be handled – at every stage in the process – in accordance with the very best practices,” says Şeref Kazancı, SVP Cargo of Turkish Airlines.
In a further demonstration of Turkish Cargo’s commitment to strengthening its position in the pharma segment the freight carrier is also investing in the latest products and services as well as upskilling its staff. A dedicated team has been trained to ensure that the integrity of the cold chain and products is preserved through transportation. And a ‘Thermal Dolly’ service is set to be introduced to protect shipments from the heat on the tarmac at Istanbul Atatürk Airport.
Turkish Cargo has 3,000 m² of special storage areas covering four different temperature ranges (from -20 °C to +25 °C) in an indoor area of 43,000 m² on a total area of 71,000 m². The healthcare products are stored in a dedicated area of 1,030 m². All storing and handling processes are carried out as specified in the relevant regulations. Temperatures are monitored with the telemetry system, and all cargo movements are tracked with COMIS, Turkish Cargo’s IT software, in real time.
IATA established the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) in Pharmaceutical Logistics to help companies from the entire air cargo supply chain achieve excellence in their pharmaceutical handling operations. CEIV Pharma covers, or even supersedes, many of the existing pharmaceutical standards and guidelines, such as the IATA Temperature Control Regulations (TCR), the European Union Good Distribution Practices (EU GDP), the World Health Organization Annex 5 and the United States Pharmacopeia Standards.
