Worldwide Flight Services has obtained the International Air Transport Association’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics certification for its station in Brussels.

According to WFS, Brussels is the company’s first European cargo station to achieve the certification.

“We are proud to be the first WFS station in Europe with CEIV accreditation and to be supporting our customers and the efforts of Brussels Airport to create the world’s first CEIV-certified airport community,” said Marc Claesen, regional vice president of WFS in Belgium.

WFS has installed two new dedicated pharma cells in its main warehouse in Brussels to help maintain the integrity of pharma products within 15-25°C and 2-8°C temperature-controlled environments. As part of the certification programme, it has also adopted specific pharma handling procedures and provided training for its staff working in the upgraded facility.

The cargo handler is in the process of obtaining either the CEIV Pharma or the Good Distribution Practice certification at major locations across its network, including building new facilities at stations such as Paris, Milan and Copenhagen.

Pharma volumes handled by WFS in Brussels grew by approximately 170% in 2016 and are expected to reach a new high in 2017. Volumes for the first 10 months of the year have already exceeded 3,000 tonnes.

“We are continuing to listen to the needs of our airline customers and to support them with new and enhanced facilities where we see opportunities that offer growth potential for them and for WFS,” said John Batten, EVP of cargo in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia at WFS. “Delivering further improvements to our pharma-handling services at major stations is one of our key areas of focus and this will continue in 2018 with investments and GDP or CEIV certifications at more of our locations with high pharma volumes.”