China Airlines Cargo Services has chalked up another win by becoming the first carrier in Taiwan and one of only 17 carriers in the world to be certified by the IATA Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma).
The carrier said the certification is proof that rigorous quality control and a high standard of air transportation services at China Airlines now “meets the international standards required for the delivery of time-critical, temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals”.
China Airlines has extensive experience with the transportation of special cargo as one of the world’s top 10 air cargo carriers. Pharmaceutical logistics is a longstanding business that began growing in 2016 at a rate of 30 per cent per year.
Introduction of CEIV certification commenced in 2018 in a bid to standardise service processes and promote Taiwan as a hub. The airline said passing this international certification will hopefully lead to double-digit growth in the high-value cargo market for China Airlines.
China Airlines Cargo Services vice president, Eddy Liu said: “We value every chance we get to provide our transportation services to suppliers. The construction of a more complete operating process and more professional personnel training standards will help ensure the quality and timeliness of pharmaceutical logistics.
“We are proud to have gain the first CEIV Pharma certification in Taiwan as it represents recognition of China Airlines continued improvements to the quality of cargo services.”
The carrier said the temperature-controlled shipping containers it introduced in 2013 proved popular with customers. Extensive logistics and personnel experience, integration of ground and warehouse storage operations at the cargo hub in Taoyuan International Airport, and central location for transshipping to Europe, the US and Asia not only boosted China Airlines’ competitiveness and profits in the high-value cargo market.
It also strengthened China Airlines’ position in the Asia Pacific region for air cargo. The carrier expects more high-end pharma suppliers to make Taiwan their transshipment hub to the rest of the world.
In the future, world-class transportation standards and consistent temperature control will be employed to satisfy customer requirements in the timeliness and quality of each drug type.
China Airlines operates regular freighter charter services to Columbus, USA, and the freight station in Nagoya, Japan, bring the total number of freight stations around the world to 35.
In addition to developing the regional market and optimising links between Europe/US and Asia, China Airlines is also strengthening its cooperation with partner airlines and large international cargo agents.
