PARIS-BASED groundhandler Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has seen 'significant increases' in time- and temperature-sensitive volumes in the first five months of the year following investments in 12 dedicated pharma facilities at airports in Europe, the US and Africa.
The company has made multimillion euro investments in pharma centres at its airport stations in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Miami, New York and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), reports London's Air Cargo News.
In Johannesburg, import shipments rose by more than 72 per cent year on year in the first five months of 2020 to 627 tonnes, driven by the handling of particularly high volumes for Kuehne + Nagel.
Amsterdam has also seen strong growth as new airline customers, including Saudi Arabian Airlines, boosted WFS' pharma business by 285 per cent and 134 per cent in April and May respectively, while volumes at the airport for January-May of 1,444 tonnes were up 92 per cent over the same period last year.
The opening of WFS' new EUR10 million (US$11.27 million) Pharma Centre at Paris CDG, and its subsequent IATA CEIV Pharma certification in February, has also encouraged rising pharma volumes from customers such as Qatar Airways, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Air Algerie, Allied Air, Emirates and Kuehne + Nagel.
WFS said it would continue to evaluate opportunities for additional pharma facilities in line with customer demand. The company said it is also in the process of expanding its temperature-controlled pharma operation in Copenhagen, which handles high volumes of medicines and insulin. The larger, enhanced facility will be completed by 2022.
SeaNews Turkey
The company has made multimillion euro investments in pharma centres at its airport stations in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Miami, New York and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), reports London's Air Cargo News.
In Johannesburg, import shipments rose by more than 72 per cent year on year in the first five months of 2020 to 627 tonnes, driven by the handling of particularly high volumes for Kuehne + Nagel.
Amsterdam has also seen strong growth as new airline customers, including Saudi Arabian Airlines, boosted WFS' pharma business by 285 per cent and 134 per cent in April and May respectively, while volumes at the airport for January-May of 1,444 tonnes were up 92 per cent over the same period last year.
The opening of WFS' new EUR10 million (US$11.27 million) Pharma Centre at Paris CDG, and its subsequent IATA CEIV Pharma certification in February, has also encouraged rising pharma volumes from customers such as Qatar Airways, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Air Algerie, Allied Air, Emirates and Kuehne + Nagel.
WFS said it would continue to evaluate opportunities for additional pharma facilities in line with customer demand. The company said it is also in the process of expanding its temperature-controlled pharma operation in Copenhagen, which handles high volumes of medicines and insulin. The larger, enhanced facility will be completed by 2022.
SeaNews Turkey