Turkish Cargo carried the first batch of the Covid-19 vaccines procured from China's Sinovac to Turkey.

The vaccines were loaded inside 17 containers equipped with dedicated cooling systems and delivered to the officials of Turkey’s Ministry of Health after being transported from Beijing to Ankara via a dedicated flight.

The IATA CEIV pharma-certified carrier noted that in response to the coronavirus outbreak, it increased its airfreight capacity by 30%. It also enhanced its cold chain capabilities to enable it to transport 25,000 tonnes of pharma supplies per month.

The carrier also highlighted that it has created a global pharmaceutical corridor between more than 400 destinations, and it has carried many other types of pharmaceuticals along its corridor to key destinations including Mumbai, Brussels, Istanbul, Singapore, Dubai, Basel, London and Amsterdam.

Holding the IATA CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) pharma certificate, Turkish Cargo said it maintains the cold chain at the optimal conditions with its "TK Pharma" product which was designed for carrying pharmaceuticals such as medicine and vaccines at global standards.

"Maintaining its continuous dialogue with the pharmaceutical manufacturers, forwarders, airports, ground handling companies and the national authorities, the flag carrier is capable of satisfying a wide range of requirements of the pharmaceutical manufacturers by making use of dedicatedly cooled containers and means such as dry ice for the shipments at ultra-frozen range (-70 ° C)," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cargo noted how it created a global pharmaceutical corridor between more than 400 destinations by transporting pharmaceuticals to the key and certificated destinations such as Mumbai, Brussels, Istanbul, Singapore, Dubai, Basel, London and Amsterdam.

The carrier operates 361 aircraft — 25 of which are freighters. Its growing network has a reach of more than 300 destinations, 96 of which are direct cargo destinations.