Lufthansa Cargo has been awarded the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics certification by the International Air Transport Association.

“In achieving IATA CEIV Pharma certification across its global network, Lufthansa Cargo joins an elite group of six airlines whose customers can have even more confidence that their pharmaceuticals will be delivered in impeccable condition,” said Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo at IATA. “IATA has created CEIV Pharma to help airlines, handlers and forwarders to be compliant with international regulations and to create one global standard for transporting pharmaceuticals.”

The 4,500m² Lufthansa Cargo Cool Center at Frankfurt Airport, which features four cold-storage rooms at different temperature ranges as well as a deep-freeze room, has also been certified.

“Pharmaceutical shipments are extremely challenging and demand maximum reliability from airlines,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, board member for product and sales at Lufthansa Cargo. “Adhering to the required temperature is crucial to ensure medication can be used as planned following shipping. 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.”

As part of the certification, independent specialists reviewed various aspects of the carrier’s operations and processes in a months-long procedure to ensure that they comply with the required standards.

Lufthansa Cargo will continue to further develop the transport of pharmaceuticals.

“We continue to see good growth opportunities in pharmaceutical shipping,” said von Hoensbroech. “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.”

The five other CEIV Pharma certified airlines are Air France, CAL Cargo Airlines, Finnair, KLM and Turkish Airlines.