NEW DELHI: India’s airlines and airport operators have started preparing for the mammoth task of bringing Covid vaccines across the country. While it will be “difficult” to meet Pfizer’s minus 70 degrees Celsius requirement for their vaccines, they are preparing to set up cold chain storage for jab work that must be performed on an unprecedented scale of several crore vaccines. to get started.
The GMR Group, which operates the Delhi and Hyderabad airports, says air cargo units from both locations are preparing to “play a critical role in the distribution of vaccines through a time- and temperature-sensitive distribution system. state-of-the-art “with cold rooms ranging from + 25 ° C to -20 ° C. SpiceJet’s loading arm, the economical transporter, SpiceXpress, has partnered with global cold chain solution providers to perform chain operations cold without problems and offers freight shipping with controlled ambient temperatures between +25 degrees Celsius and -40 degrees Celsius.
Many other airports and airlines are also known to be preparing for the transport of vaccines, arguably the biggest air cargo opportunity yet, comments from them were awaited until press time.
Coronavirus Outbreak: Live Updates
Delhi airport has two cargo terminals that can handle more than 1.5 lakh metric tons (1 MT is 1,000 kg) and has “temperature controlled zones with separate cold rooms ranging from + 25 ° C to -20 ° C C, which would be extremely conducive to distribution of Covid 19 vaccines, “said a spokesperson.
“There are refrigerated platforms in the operations area that guarantee an uninterrupted cooling chain during the movement of temperature-sensitive cargo between the terminal and the aircraft. The terminals have separate doors for the rapid movement of vehicles that transport vaccines in and out of the airport. Delhi Airport has established a ‘transshipment center of excellence’ on the air side that will assist in the rapid movement of vaccines through transshipment, “he added.
A Hyderabad airport spokesman said “GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) is at the epicenter of the Indian vaccine production region.” “GHAC has the first pharmaceutical zone in India with certified temperature controlled facilities for handling temperature sensitive cargo. The terminal is equipped with various temperature zones from -20 to +25 degrees Celsius … The cargo parking stalls are only 50 meters from the terminal, which minimizes the exposure time of the ramp … we recently launched the latest dollies: mobile refrigeration unit for air transport designed to eliminate any variation in temperature and keep the cold chain uninterrupted, ”he said.
GHAC claims to have “one of the largest storage facilities in India for cold containers … (We are) also upgrading the infrastructure to double the capacity both on the ground and in the air to handle the next increase in volumes,” he added.
A SpiceJet official said: “SpiceXpress offers room temperature controlled cargo shipping between +25 degrees Celsius and -40 degrees Celsius. The service is suitable for sensitive medicines, vaccines and blood samples … To adapt to the need of the cargo, the containers can (receive) additional protection of thermal blankets if necessary. (There are) transit points with coolers to replace gel packs and ensure real-time temperature monitoring with an alarm system to ensure stability. ”
He added that SpiceXpress’s cold chain management is in sync with end-to-end logistics and that cargo shipping is fully temperature controlled from the warehouse to the aircraft holding area.
The budget airline, which has operated more than 10,000 flights carrying more than 80,000 tons of cargo from March 25 to date, says it has “sufficient capacity to meet the increased demand for Covid-19 vaccine shipments. We have been transporting vaccine shipments to various national and international destinations. Many things that we carry, such as blood samples, need an environment with a controlled temperature and today we have that facility both in our planes and in our ground support vehicles ”.
The GMR Group, which operates the Delhi and Hyderabad airports, says air cargo units from both locations are preparing to “play a critical role in the distribution of vaccines through a time- and temperature-sensitive distribution system. state-of-the-art “with cold rooms ranging from + 25 ° C to -20 ° C. SpiceJet’s loading arm, the economical transporter, SpiceXpress, has partnered with global cold chain solution providers to perform chain operations cold without problems and offers freight shipping with controlled ambient temperatures between +25 degrees Celsius and -40 degrees Celsius.
Many other airports and airlines are also known to be preparing for the transport of vaccines, arguably the biggest air cargo opportunity yet, comments from them were awaited until press time.
Coronavirus Outbreak: Live Updates
Delhi airport has two cargo terminals that can handle more than 1.5 lakh metric tons (1 MT is 1,000 kg) and has “temperature controlled zones with separate cold rooms ranging from + 25 ° C to -20 ° C C, which would be extremely conducive to distribution of Covid 19 vaccines, “said a spokesperson.
“There are refrigerated platforms in the operations area that guarantee an uninterrupted cooling chain during the movement of temperature-sensitive cargo between the terminal and the aircraft. The terminals have separate doors for the rapid movement of vehicles that transport vaccines in and out of the airport. Delhi Airport has established a ‘transshipment center of excellence’ on the air side that will assist in the rapid movement of vaccines through transshipment, “he added.
A Hyderabad airport spokesman said “GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) is at the epicenter of the Indian vaccine production region.” “GHAC has the first pharmaceutical zone in India with certified temperature controlled facilities for handling temperature sensitive cargo. The terminal is equipped with various temperature zones from -20 to +25 degrees Celsius … The cargo parking stalls are only 50 meters from the terminal, which minimizes the exposure time of the ramp … we recently launched the latest dollies: mobile refrigeration unit for air transport designed to eliminate any variation in temperature and keep the cold chain uninterrupted, ”he said.
GHAC claims to have “one of the largest storage facilities in India for cold containers … (We are) also upgrading the infrastructure to double the capacity both on the ground and in the air to handle the next increase in volumes,” he added.
A SpiceJet official said: “SpiceXpress offers room temperature controlled cargo shipping between +25 degrees Celsius and -40 degrees Celsius. The service is suitable for sensitive medicines, vaccines and blood samples … To adapt to the need of the cargo, the containers can (receive) additional protection of thermal blankets if necessary. (There are) transit points with coolers to replace gel packs and ensure real-time temperature monitoring with an alarm system to ensure stability. ”
He added that SpiceXpress’s cold chain management is in sync with end-to-end logistics and that cargo shipping is fully temperature controlled from the warehouse to the aircraft holding area.
The budget airline, which has operated more than 10,000 flights carrying more than 80,000 tons of cargo from March 25 to date, says it has “sufficient capacity to meet the increased demand for Covid-19 vaccine shipments. We have been transporting vaccine shipments to various national and international destinations. Many things that we carry, such as blood samples, need an environment with a controlled temperature and today we have that facility both in our planes and in our ground support vehicles ”.
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